Anne Noon: A Pokemon Fan Fiction
by Felicity Swan
Summary: This is the story of a girl who didn't start life wanting to be the best. She wanted to help her mom, to have a family, and a good life. Things fell apart and she found family in a different way – with an unlikely father, unlikely friends, and unlikely enemies. This is Anne Noon's story and how she became a Pokémon Champion. Note: Constructive Criticism welcome.
1. Chapter 1

The day I was called to the principal's office, I will unlikely forget. I already had an off day: My best friend took the day off from school receive her Pokémon license. Avery Anderson slipped gum into my hair and the teacher had to cut it out. I even forgot my homework for the first time that year.

I was in Stats and Tactics class when the intercom dinged and the principal announced, "Anne Noon, please come to the office. Your mother is picking you up."

Confused and slightly grateful, I stood from my desk and collected my textbooks, "Types and Statuses and You," Battle Tactics for Beginning Trainers: Fourth Edition", and shoved them in my pink and yellow backpack. I slipped out as a friend waved bye and the other students watched curiously.

I pondered over the sudden pick-up as I strode down the hall. Maybe Dad returned home from his latest story overseas. As an ace reporter, Dad often left for the latest scoop, to expose bad guys and help anyone in need. This month, he had to leave for a report overseas about a group of terrorists who were stealing Pokémon. There were rumors circulating that they were conducting inhumane experiments on Pokémon and perhaps trying to create some new Pokémon. If anyone could clear up the rumors, it was Dad.

My pace quickened at the thought of him returning. I slowed as I passed the music hall, where I heard students practicing the Pokéflute. They sounded better than my class.

I trotted by the hall with the higher grades – fifth through sixth. There were fewer students, because those who receive their trainer license often leave home immediately for their journey to become Pokémon Masters. Others stayed to optimize their skills.

A door down the hall burst open with firework-like plumes of fire raining on the tiles. An alarm sounded, but was silenced when a Blastoise stuck its head out and put out the embers with a stream of water from its mouth. There was nothing to fear with the teacher's quick thinking and advanced skills. Rumors around school was that many of our teachers used to be Gym Leaders, like Mrs. Kasumi or Mr. Ghibli. Even our principal was believed to be a champion at some point. Then again, it was rumors, so I didn't really care. I only cared for who they were now.

I continued to the school's front office, where I found a squatty, elderly woman behind the front desk. I asked her as I approached, "Did my Mom come through here? Cynthia Noon?"

"Yes," she answered and turned to the Wigglytuff behind her sorting papers in the filing cabinets. "Ju-Lee, show Ms. Noon to the principal's office? I can finish the filing."

The pink, balloon creature smiled pleasantly and nodded before waddling over to me. It had rabbit ears and a tuft of hair, as well as short arms. It didn't seem to have any legs as it waddled in front of me.

The creature motioned me to the door at the end of the hallway. I thanked her with a small nod and entered.

Mom's face was red and her eyes puffy. I had never seen her so distraught in my nine year old life. My jaw hung open and I couldn't look at the principal, who stood and asked me to sit. I hardly heard him as my body did as told. Before my butt met the seat, I asked, "Mom? What's wrong?"

She gingerly handed me the Pokéball with Dad's initials engraved on the red side and two little golden wings above it. "We have to go home," she stated.

"Take as much time as you need," the principal stated. "We understand how difficult this can be, especially on a child."

"What? What's difficult?" I ordered, my voice coming out of my throat a little louder than I wanted it. I felt my face gain heat as I closed my mouth and looked at Mom for some kind of answer. She already stood and motioned me to come with a wave of her hand.

I watched her hair bounce as I followed her down the hall. Sometimes, she let me brush it or play with it by putting it in funny hairdos. It was lush brown and glinted gold in the sunlight. I envied her, since I only had coarse, black hair.

I traced the engraving several times and felt the embossed wings. This was his special messenger Pokéball, which he sent only to his editor if he was overseas. Only, this one was even more special because of the Pokémon inside. Why did Mom have it?

As we approached the car, an Ursaring exited the passenger side to allow me in. It was Mom's Ursaring and a quiet and steady second arm around the house. She also kept her Togekiss out as a guardian and playmate for me. Ursaring, before I entered the car, gave me a tight hug and mumbled comfortingly in her deep growls. I made a confused look as she climbed into the back seat.

I stared at the Pokéball as Mom drove us home in silence. "Mom, why do you have Dad's Pokéball? Isn't this going to his editor?"

"We'll talk when we get home, baby," she answered quietly. She only used the 'baby' nickname when she wanted to be tender or comforting.

Inside the Pokéball was a powerful bird Pokémon, Pidgeot. He had raised it since he was a little boy, saving Pidgeys and Weedles from injury inflicted by trainers. One Pidgey he was allowed to keep and it evolved through the years to become a Pidgeot. He once lived in the woods, writing stories and saving Pokémon, while his father was a carpenter and his mother a Pokémon breeder. Whatever happened to Dad, it must have been terrible for him to send his prized Pokémon.

Once home, Mom sat down with me on the couch and gingerly took the Pokéball from me. She inhaled shakily and summoned, "Pidgeot, please…" She paused to swallow and stifle tears. "Please come out and show my daughter the letter."

A blast of light snaked out of the Pokéball and onto the table, where a Pidgeot appeared. I gasped and held my hands to my mouth.

The beautiful Pokémon had one wing bandaged and both legs bandaged. Most of it's face had bandages as well. It's eyes were dull from medication and pain. Under its talons was an envelope, which it slid forward with a small coo.

I picked the paper up as Mom explained, "The Pokémon nurse called me this morning after you went to school. She had worked on him all week and only now opened the letter to find our address."

I opened the envelope and slid the page out. I read it and slowly became numb as I finished.

_"__Dear Cynthia, _

_If you are reading this, Team Rocket has discovered and killed me. For years now, they have stolen, experimented on, and killed Pokémon to gain power, both in battle and politically. I have suspicions Giovanni was behind this operation. I know, now, that it is indeed Giovanni._

_For months, I have gathered and hunted for evidence as to who the connections are within the operation. I have groveled and stooped to their level to join their ranks – I even let them abuse my beloved Pidgeot. I'm sending to him my handler in case something happens, because I sense they are watching me closer and planning to dispatch me. Take care of Pidgeot for me. Release him or give him to my brother if you cannot. _

_You and I knew it would come to this. A scoop hasn't gone by without my worry that this will be my last. I wanted to retire after this one, stay home with you and Anne. Tell her I love her. I'm sorry I've left you like this._

_Know this: If I am dead, it's because I have released a Pokémon they've been experimenting on for years now. If they discover my true identity, then my final act will be to set that Pokémon free. _

_After you have read this, give this to my editor. I have written the IP address on the back to the cache site for the evidence. Hopefully, Team Rocket won't discover it. I love you more than words can justify. I'm proud of Anne and of you, Cynthia. You have been patient and kind with me. I don't know how you have done it. Because of our love and the love we have for our daughter, I have wanted to make the world a better place._

_Forever Yours, Jase Noon." _

I couldn't believe it. Mom burst into tears as I lowered the paper. Pidgeot bowed his head mournfully. I stared at the letter, struggling to process the gravity of what was written there. No way. Not Dad. He was the one who woke me up for the lunar eclipse. He told me the most exciting stories. His smiling face told Mom and me everything was fine, no matter how worried we felt. If I felt bad, he brought me Zero Bars, which I hated and still ate them because he went out of his way to buy them. He couldn't be dead.

We had an empty casket funeral. Mom didn't want me to speak at the wake, which had half the community there, and we kept the funeral as isolated as possible. Only Grandma and Grandpa were there, as they were the only ones nearest to us. Mom was an orphan. Dad's brother couldn't make it, because he had no transportation and the letter probably hadn't made it to him yet.

The editor also came to the funeral, where Mom gave him the letter afterwards. He reassured her, "I'll let you know what we find. I promise."

The week went by as Mom and I were ghosts – not here but still here. I felt like I was floating along, unable to grasp what was going on. Mom, too, couldn't function. We managed to send Dad's Pidgeot to the local Pokémon Clinic for the full care we realized we couldn't give him.

The news exploded. We thought they would use Dad's information to expose Kanto President, Giovanni, but instead, the headlines read, "Reporter Frames Pres. Giovanni."

On the day the news released the scandal, the editor dropped by the house for tea. Instead, he wanted to check on us and explain the situation.

"It's probably best if you and your daughter leave town. You and I know the truth. Team Rocket will come and they will try to kill you and possibly your daughter for any information you know."

"How long should we leave?" she asked, her face like flint and eyes dull to the world.

"A week, maybe more."

Mom looked at me with consideration. "This week is the Annual Trainer Festival. Do you want to be here while it goes on?"

I shook my head and Mom answered the editor, "You heard my daughter. The Festival isn't worth seeing this year. I believe we'll go to my brother in law's in Viridian Forest. His cabin is too far for cell phones to work."

"Good," he answered, and straightened the doyly under his teacup. "I'll have someone send you a message when this is over."

"What about school?" I asked. "I have finals next week."

"Tomorrow is Friday?" Mom asked. "I'll talk with the Principal and have him set something up for the end of the month. Will that work for you, Mr. Miyagi?"

"Yes," he answered briefly.

"Good." She nodded to Ursaring, who stood up from her chair and motioned the editor to the front door.

Mom rubbed her temples. "We'll start packing tonight." She turned to Ursaring and stated, "Let's clean up the house the rest of the day and prepare for leaving tomorrow." The bear Pokémon nodded and turned to the wall rack of aprons to grab the extra-large, pink one at the end. Mom turned to me and smiled reassuringly, "Don't worry, baby. Your school will understand. These are special circumstances."

"I'm not worried about school," I answered as I played with the placemat in front of me. School was only second tier to my family. "I'm really worried about you. Are you okay?"

Mom nodded. "One day at a time. We take this one day at a time, understood?"

I nodded and she scrubbed my hair, messing up the barrettes on the side. I managed a giggle as she teased me about my messed up hair. "My word! What have you done with your hair, Anne Noon?"

"Mom! You messed it up!"

She scratched my head again as she growled, "Why, never in all my days!"

With a few more giggles, I stood to clean my room. Togekiss, the serene bird creature, joined me as I jogged upstairs to my room. The Togekiss was a big sister to me than a playmate, as she sometimes kept me in line and usually watched over me. The creature floated gracefully on the air, hardly beating her wings.

My room was a mess, more so than usual, and I barely had the emotional strength to clean it since receiving the news of my Dad's death. Togekiss landed on my shoulder as I pondered the state of my room. Clothes lined the floor near my bed, my desk in the opposite corner had papers and books largely untouched since earlier that week. I glanced at Togekiss and asked, "Do you understand how I feel?"

I felt raw inside, as if everything was an overwhelming force and I was unable to stand against them. When I turned on the radio, I listened to the hosts describing the trainers, gym leaders, and champions turning in for the Annual Trainer Festival.

Each year, trainers, gym leaders, elite, and champions gather in a designated region, where they hold a tournament to determine the next Pokémon Master – the champion of champions. Each region – Kanto, Johto, Sinnoh, Hoenn, Kalos, and Unova – have a turn in hosting the festival.

As I listened, I felt anger well up from my chest and send heat down my back and up the back of my skull. I turned the radio off quickly and set out to work. How dare they enjoy life, while I had to suffer? The world should stop and take notice – my father died! Instead, the world continued on, leaving Mom and I behind. It was sickening and discouraging all at once.

I piled my clothes in the closet, unsure what was clean anymore, and sorted the colors to clean. Throwing the whites in the clothesbasket, I carried them to the laundry room in the basement. I caught a glimpse of Ursaring and Mom cleaning the living room and kitchen. Ursaring stopped what she was doing and took the laundry for me. I frowned and she motioned with her nose for me to leave, nodding to the stairs.

I dashed to my room and started to sort my books and papers, clean my bed, and reorganize my closet. Whatever I thought I might need over the next three weeks, I stashed into my backpack and suitcase. I even pulled out old backpacks to fill with sketchbooks, pencils, comics, and anything I might want to use while there.

Around lunch time, Mom poked her head in and said, "Hey Anne – whoa!" She blinked and remarked, "Are you cleaning or just making it worse?"

I glanced around and realized my how I had piled everything on the floor and desk. I said, "I'm reorganizing."

"Don't take too long, alright? You still have to sleep tonight." She squeezed through the door blocked by stacks of books, and held a bowl of rice and curry to me. "Here you go." I took it and smiled at the rice ball shaped like a Teddyursa staring at me with huge eyes and cute smile.

"Thanks, Mom. I didn't notice I was getting hungry."

"Of course," she answered and turned to squeezed out of my room. I carefully placed the stack of notebooks on the floor next to my desk to make room for the bowl of curry. I paused to pray before eating. I watched outside as Ladyba and Pidgeys fluttered about outside, which meant summer was well on it's way.

I hadn't been back to school since the funeral. I wondered how my friend was doing, if she returned to school with her license or went on her journey. I knew what Pokémon she picked: Obviously, she picked a Cyndaquil. Her father had a Typhlosion and she wanted one, too, as her starter.

I had no clue what I wanted to pick for a starter. So many Pokémon to choose. Actually, there were few to choose from. There were base types to officially pick from: Fire, Water, Grass, and Normal types. The types had a rock-paper-scissors effect on one another, but only to a degree. As our teachers taught us, it was strategy that truly won the day.

Maybe I could pick a Togepi like Mom, or a Charmander. I considered this like so many times before as I ate the curry. Maybe I could pick an Eevee, which could evolve in to Fire, Water, Electric, Grass, Ice, Psychic, and Dark types.

That night, I went to bed, reassured that I had everything I needed. My bags waited on the first floor, next to the front door, for the trip. I climbed into bed and snuggled my toy Snorlax. I was excited to meet my Uncle.

That morning, we ate pancakes and eggs before piling everything in the back seat and trunk of the car. Mom withdrew Togekiss into her Pokéball to save on space, while Ursaring rode in the back seat. My stuffed Snorlax rode in my lap for company.

Mom drove to the school first. She, Ursaring, and I walked inside. I stayed in the front office with Ursaring, watching the Wigglytuff and the office woman working. Mostly, the Wigglytuff kept busy by cleaning and dusting while the woman answered calls and answered emails.

Mom stayed inside for about thirty minutes before striding out. Her eyes looked puffy and red as she motioned me to follow her. The principal looked sympathetic as we walked away. Ursaring held the door open for Mom as we exited the building.

"Sweetheart," Mom began, "you'll take your finals at the first week of June."

"Are you okay?" I finally asked as we neared the car.

"Just… Talking about your father's … death was harder than I thought."

I felt sick to my stomach as I climbed into the passenger seat. Was it guilt or dread that made me feel so ill?

I let it slide away as we drove through town. It was jarring, seeing the regional flags waving at us along main street and the blocked off square for the tournaments. The stadium on the other side of the county courthouse was already live with construction and preparations, with banners of color on either side of the entrances welcoming trainers from all over.

I would miss it. For the first time, I would miss the semi-annual Trainer's Festival. Dad was the driving force behind encouraging us to go – Mom and I hated crowds. In fact, Mom would hyperventilate if we didn't sit near the stairs. Dad's brother, the man we went to see now, had been Kanto's Champion, once upon a time. Dad tried, but he lost both times and his loss was what helped him realize he wanted to be a reporter.

Mom must have read my mind, "I can't believe we're missing it."

I pryed myself from the window and looked at her. Tears already wet her face. "I'm sorry, Anne."

"It's okay," I reassured. "I… I don't mind."

She wiped her face on her sleeves and clicked on the turn signal. "I feel like it's not even real – like it's a dream – this Festival. I hate feeling like I'm in a dream."

I hugged toy Snorlax to me and buried my face in his smushy head. "I don't like it, either."

"Giovanni. I can't believe he did this to us," Mom stated. She slapped the wheel and gritted her teeth. "I can't even feel mad!" She caught her breath. "I'm not going to cry right now. We just have to get there. Just go. I can do this. Please, God." She wiped her face again.

I curled up and leaned my head on the window. I watched the mid-morning sky lighten into blue as we drove along fields and forests. Ponytas and Rapidashes ran along fences, while Miltanks lazed around. Taroses stampeded by. In the forests, I saw Ratatatas hide away while Stanlers near the forests edge bounded into the woods. Mom had to miss a Ferrow along the way, too.

About two o'clock, Mom slowed the car and turned down a dirt road. The car bumbled along, taking it slowly. The trees towered overhead, seemingly holding the sky at bay. Greenery threatened to consume the tan, dirt road, while trees arched over us. The green was lush and healthy. Kakunas watched us from their hanging spots in the branches while Beedrill beat their wings periodically, as if warning us. A flock of Butterfree floated on the gentle air current over us while Ladiba and Ledan sped under their path.

After about two miles, we came to a wooden cottage sitting at the top of a hill. In front, a man chopped wood with a Raichu next to him with another log of wood for him to split. The rat-Pokémon spotted us as we drove up and tugged his baggy pants. The man looked up and raised his bushy eyebrows before dropping the ax and heading for us. Mom said, "Leave the bags in the car. We'll get them in a minute."

She practically leapt out of the car and raced to the man with arms wide open. The burly man spread his arms to catch her. "Logan!" she cried.

"Cynthia," he answered and hugged her tight. I tiptoed to them, keeping my distance. The man had a thick, peppered beard and long hair. He winked at me and smiled with a small nod just before Mom burst into sobs. His blue eyes darkened and he held her at arm's length. "Cynthia," he said again with more sympathy and concern. "What happened?"

She trembled under his hands. She shook her head and sobbed harder, unable to say it. He glanced between Mom and me and looked at the car. "No," he said. "No, not my… Jase?" Uncle Logan held her close and she sobbed into his chest. Uncle Logan rocked her side to side and tears fell down his eyes.

Mom pulled away after a minute and motioned me near. Uncle Logan handed her a handkerchief and knelt to my level. He had Dad's nose, his forehead, and gentle, yet piercing blue eyes, as if he understood you mind and soul. "Anne, is it? Your father told me much about you. I'm proud to finally meet you. My name is Logan and you can call me Uncle Logan if you want. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you."

I put my hands on either side of his thin face and scratchy beard and gave him a kiss on his thick nose. I don't know why, but it seemed like the thing to do. The man laughed, showing his teeth and scrubbed my hair. "You're so wonderful," he said.

He stood upright, knees popping on his way up, and announced, "Let's go inside, where's more comfortable."

Ursaring approached, however, and Mom said, "Oh, this is my Ursaring. She's like a second pair of arms for me. She might remember you."

Ursaring sized the man up, her serious expression becoming scrutinizing. The man waited, crossing his thick, muscled arms. I noticed they were about the same height. The Ursaring finally softened her face and held out a claw for him to shake. He did so with a smirk and said, "I suppose you do remember me."

I made a confused look. The rat-Pokémon, Raichu, approached me and squeaked at me. I smiled to him. The creature came up to my hip, with black-lined ears and a long, thin tail with a lightning bolt on the end. Raichu had orange fur and yellow cheeks where the electricity was held. The ends of his feet and upper paws were dark gray. It smiled as we shook hands.

"That's Raichu," Uncle Logan explained as he held his arm down for Raichu to climb up. "He's my partner and assistant. Sometimes, it's hard for me to make it to patients in time, so I send Raichu ahead to take care of them."

"Huh?" I asked.

Uncle Logan laughed as we followed him to the cabin. "Oh, right. I'm also a doctor. I specialize in humans, but I also take care of Pokémon."

"Dad said you used to be a Pokémon Master," I remarked.

"A long time ago," he answered as we stepped up the wooden porch steps.

Inside, we came to a living room with shelves of books on the left. To the right stood the fireplace and sitting area with glass shelves on either side. The shelves had dozens of pictures of various people and Pokémon. Shadow boxes full of badges displayed on the mantle, all from each region. At the center stood a trophy, with a huge Pokéball at the center and the Legendary Bird Pokémon, Ho-Oh, perched on top with his wings spread and beak open in a triumph cry. The Award of the Pokémon Master.

"Wow," I whispered as I stared at it. "I've never seen one up close."

Uncle Logan hoisted his pants by the belt and sighed, "It's just a trophy. It's nice on the resume, too. It didn't compare to being a husband."

I glanced at him as he turned to the shelf to the left of the fireplace. "Come here." He motioned me to him. I tiptoed to him and he pointed to a picture at the center. "There's my wife. Amanda Noon."

The picture showed a woman in an outfit from the sixties next to him in a white coat. They smiled in front of a building with a sign above, "Noon Clinic."

"We were happy. She was a doctor for Pokémon and I was a doctor for humans. On the side, Amanda taught nursing to Pokémon Breeders at the local college." He rubbed his coarse hair and added, "We were happy."

I examined the rest of the photos, some of Amanda and a Rhydon in front of the clinic, or her and the Rhyhorn with teenagers. There was a picture of Uncle Logan and Aunt Amanda on a picnic with their Raichu and Rhydon off to the sides. They all laughed at something. Sprinkled throughout were pictures of my Uncle and my father as kids and as trainers. I saw Uncle Logan and Dad together with a Pikachu and a Pidgeotto.

"Your Dad was a great brother. A little mischevious, but it suited his job, I think. He didn't think being a doctor suited me. I was too adventurous, he thought."

"Where's Aunt Amanda?" I asked.

His mouth narrowed, his mustache straightening, and he said, "She died in Goldenrod City after a seminar. She was a guest speaker. It was raining."

I closed my mouth and saw a Rhydon step out of the kitchen to the left with a plateful of cookies. The rock-ground type Pokémon wore a pink apron with ruffles, rivaling Ursaring's apron. The 6 foot Pokémon smiled to me and lowered the plate to my level with a light, cooing sound.

"Rodi likes visitors," Uncle Logan stated. "Eh, Rodi?"

The Pokémon nodded and I took a cookie with a swift hand. It was still warm to the touch and the chocolate chips were melted just enough to mush in my mouth. I unintentionally moaned from the ooey-gooey goodness and asked, "Are these homemade?"

"From scratch," answered Uncle Logan. "My wife's secret recipe."

Ursaring and Mom came in with the luggage and Rodi put the cookies on the coffee table. Mom sighed, "Oh, Rodi. Good to see you."

The tall Pokémon actually towered over Ursaring, which seemed to unsettle the bear-Pokémon. She leered at Rodi uncomfortably as Rodi took the luggage from her. Ursaring snatched the suitcases from her claws and huffed as she lumbered to the guest room down the hall on my right.

Uncle Logan took the luggage from Mom and reassured her, "The Pokémon will get along fine. They always do this, remember?"

"I hope so," Mom answered.

"Sit down and make yourself comfortable. I have an outlet if anything needs charging."

"My tablet." Then to me, "Anne, make yourself comfortable, okay? We'll unpack everything tomorrow morning. We're going to have lunch with Uncle Logan." I sat down on the couch and crossed my legs.

"Good," Uncle Logan said, "I almost forgot about lunch. Rodi, do you mind starting on some sandwiches for us?"

Rodi smiled pleasantly and nodded before turning to leave. Mom reached on her Pokéball belt and unhooked the Pidgeot's ball. Uncle Logan turned to her and his shoulders slumped a little. He slowly reached for the ball and picked it up as if it were a precious artifact.

His thick, calloused fingers felt the engraving and he choked, "He died doing what he loved. Didn't he?"

Mom nodded solemnly before informing, "Pidgeot isn't in great shape, but if anyone can help him, it'll be you."

"Bad injuries, huh?" he sniffled. "I can help him." He wiped his face and informed, "You can let out any of your other Pokémon. I'm sure they'd love to run around." He rolled his shoulders before striding to the hallway. "I'll be in the shop. If either of you need me, let me know. Rodi will be done soon."

"Thank you, Logan," answered Mom. He nodded and disappeared down the hall.

"Come on, Anne," Mom urged and motioned me with her out the front door.

Outside, Mom unleashed her entire team: Togekiss, Arbok, Sableye, Gardivior, and Charizard. Togekiss sang as she soared to my shoulder. The Charizard stretched his wings and let out a deep yawn while Sableye jumped excitedly in place, giggling and chattering in a haunting child's voice. Gardivior glided over to Mom and waved to me. The Arbok slithered and stretched out his body to bathe in the sun.

Mom said to them, "Guys, we're taking a break. I want you all to have fun here, but don't get too far from the cabin. This is Logan Noon's house." At that, the Charizard gave a harsh huff, smoke and sparks spilling from it's nose. "I thought you would recognize Logan," she laughed.

"What did you and Logan do?" I asked. "Your Pokémon are acting strange around him."

Mom patted my shoulder and reassured, "I'll tell you over lunch."

Still confused, I shrugged and asked, "Can I go play, too?"

"Sure, but don't go anywhere without Togekiss." Mom answered. I smiled and said to Togekiss, "I'll race you to the forest!"

I galloped while the white Pokémon soared in the air. I heard Mom call after me, "Be careful out there!" I waved to her to let her know I heard.

The field seemed to last forever. I pumped my legs, huffing and running at full speed. Let it all go, I told myself. Run off this crappy feeling.

When I turned nine, it became harder to play pretend as I had a year ago as an eight year old. Togekiss loved it, but we mostly ran around or dug up rocks. Sometimes I read to her. I tried to play pretend sometimes, to keep my imagination alive.

We came to the edge where the field met the forest. I stumbled to a stop and panted while Togekiss stood regally, having beat me to the spot. I smiled through the panting and huffed, "You win this round." I looked over my shoulder and saw the Sableye scampering to me, the jewels sticking out of his body glinting in the sunlight. He grinned at me when he came close and leapt up and down. "Do you want to play with us?" I asked and it nodded.

Overhead, Mom's Charizard soared, roaring and puffing smoke. Gardivior stood at the edge of the field, watching us play pretend. Today, I wanted to pretend like I was a ghost hunter and Sableye eagerly played the ghost, since it was a Dark-Ghost type. Togekiss was my partner and we explored the haunted field. Sableye would give me a wedgie every now and then.

Mom called us in for lunch, so the Pokémon and I turned in. Mom kept her Pokémon outside, but Uncle Logan urged her to let them in – the kitchen was large enough for them to eat.

The three of us sat at the table, while the Pokémon sat off to the right of us, between the kitchen and the table with tall chairs. It felt weird eating at such a small table without my feet immediately touching the floor if I stretched my legs.

"So, what's with you and Uncle Logan?" I asked Mom and they exchanged glances before laughing.

"Okay," Mom said. "Your father and uncle and I became friends on our Pokémon journeys. We even traveled together from time to time. We trained together, ate together, and pooled our money together to sleep in the same hotels. They even saved me from bullies who were sore losers."

"To top our friendship off," Uncle Logan continued, "we ended up fighting each other in the Trainer Festival. My brother had already beaten most of the gym leaders, but didn't have what it took to beat the Kanto Elite Four, so he started in the lower tiers. Cynthia and I started in the same tiers, since we both beat the Elite Four already, but not any Champions."

Mom's face brightened for the first time in weeks. "We ended up facing off against one another. It was a grueling battle – and it lasted for about two hours."

"Yes, and it was a very close one. I beat Cynthia."

"Since then," Mom added, "most of my Pokémon have had a since of rivalry toward him. I don't, really. I married his brother, after all." She stirred her green tea before sipping it.

We continued to eat our ham sandwiches with fresh tomatoes, onions, and baby spinach leaves. Uncle Logan asked about my schooling and any hobbies. "I like to draw and write stories," I answered.

"Any ideas what you want to be when you grow up?"

"I don't know," I answered. "I'll figure it out, I guess."

"Good thinking. You have plenty of life to figure things out, right?" He smiled pleasantly. Then to Mom, "And you, Cynthia? What do you want to be when you grow up?"

Mom rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at him playfully. "You know, you were always like a brother to me. You're the first person I wanted to run to when … when Jase died."

Uncle Logan glanced at the Pokémon still eating and said, "I'm always here for you both. Don't forget that. If you need anything – money, company, or whatever – I'll do anything in my power to help you."

"Just be here for us," Mom answered.

"Well, you two will be here for a while, if I understand correctly."

"Yes, for about three weeks. That won't be a problem?"

"No, I just have work most days. I make house calls, now. Retirement sucks, so I decided to help people around Viridian Forest. Sometimes, the retirement home asks me to help them out. Sometimes, I get trainers on their journeys. It's better than sitting around all day."

"Do cell phones work out here?"

"No," he answered. "I have a landline. Most of my calls are from patients. Sometimes, journalists call and want an interview with me, especially around the Festival." He stood from his seat to put his plate in the kitchen sink. "If you don't mind," he added, "I like to listen to gym and elite battles in the evening on the radio station. Keeps me up-to-date, you know? They should play the battles from the Festival tournament."

"That's fine."

I finished my sandwich and put the plate in the sink with Uncle Logan. He smiled to me and asked, "Would you like to see my shop? It mostly has wood stuff and my medical supplies. But I need some fresh eyes on this project I'm working on."

"Sure," I answered and glanced at Mom for confirmation. She nodded to me and Togekiss abandoned her bowl to join me on my shoulder. Raichu, too, joined his master.

For the first time, I noticed Uncle Logan had a limp as he led me down the hallway to a creaky door. Down the concrete steps, onto the matching floor, I found myself tiptoeing through wood shavings. Togekiss wrinkled her nose at the hot scent of cut wood – like smelling sand and earth sandwiched between wooden boards. Raichu leapt onto the cutting table in the center of the room while Uncle Logan motioned me to his side.

I gasped at the sight of what waited for us: The three Legendary Dogs – Entei, Suicune, and Raiku – carved as regal guardians. Uncle Logan asked, "Do you like them?"

"I do," I answered and asked, "Can I touch them?"

"Go for it." He meandered to the end of the worktable.

I picked up Suicune, the more sleek of the three. He was called the North Wind and it was said his touch could purify any body of water. The shape of the carving was simple, almost box-like, but sanded down to give it more smooth features and carved exactly as the old paintings depicted him. Raiku, the Storm Bringer, looked sharper and wilder, and his eyes intent. Entei, however, had the air of a strong, intimidating guardian. His eyes focused, his stance strong, and his body hardy. I smiled at him and remarked, "Dad used to tell me stories about Entei."

"Hmm," he answered as he lifted his other project: A Mew figure, possibly life-size. I raised my eyebrows and dropped my jaw. The Pokemon was said to have been the origin of all the creatures that inhabited the world. Some scientists believed the Pokemon resembled a human embryo, which led them to a theory that Pokemon were somehow interconnected with human ancestry. It's huge eyes seemed so innocent, as it stared at me with it's body curved upward in a looping motion. It's long tail with an oval at the end curled underneath it, so it formed a sideways 'C'.

The wooden figure was beautiful. Uncle Logan explained, "There's a researcher who asked me to carve it. He wants to hang it in his study. I hear his passion is Mew and the connections to the origins of Pokemon."

"Wow," I whispered, not really comprehending what he said. "He must be really smart."

Uncle Logan chuckled out of the corner of his mouth as he put the figure away in the shelf under the cutting table. "Its what you do with those smarts that really make you smart."

I cocked my head to one side and wrinkled my nose. "What?"

"You can be the smartest person in the world and not do anything with it. You don't benefit anyone that way. If you're smart and put those smarts toward doing bad things, you hurt people. You have to put your smarts to good use." He paused. "I'm sorry. I'm lecturing. You'll have to excuse me." I shrugged and petted Togakiss.

"I wonder if his research will help people, is all," added my Uncle.

"I hope so," I reassured.

He chuckled and said, "Let's get out of here. It's stuffy in here. And you and your mother need to unpack still." He motioned me to the door and followed me out, but not before turning off the light. "The tournament should be starting around five o'clock. Do you want to listen to it with me?"

"Sure," I squeaked.


	2. Chapter 2

His reserves were draining. He huddled behind the rocks, watching and waiting for the evil people to pass by. The light purple Pokemon forced himself to breathe and collect himself, steadying his thoughts and making his body remain still. The lack of movement seemed to help his powers boost and he would need a boost to escape if they found him.

How long had the psychic-type been on the run? A week, perhaps. He wasn't sure anymore. These past few days had been grueling, within the moment he stopped to rest, the duo found him again. In total, he must have gotten a few hours of sleep throughout the week.

He lowered his head and put his paws on the ground, gasping for breath. It took everything just to keep himself from curling on the leafy forest floor and falling asleep.

He held his breath and looked at the moon. He exhaled heavily, soaking in the sight of the full face staring down at him. He had seen the moon in a distant dream, lost to time and memory. A girl's voice echoed in his mind, but it was too far off to hear.

He turned his gaze to his trembling paws and squeezed them into weak fists, which trembled even more. How could he have become so weak?

The Pokemon turned his attention to the direction the group should come from. Only the light of the moon illuminated his view. It took only moments, before a pack of Golbats passed, their tongues lolling in the air as they flew at full speed. The exhausted Pokemon pulled himself behind the rock a little further. Where were his pursuers?

Finally, headlights pierced the placid moonlight and a pair of four-wheelers roared into the clearing. A woman pulled off her helmet and flipped out her striking red hair that fell the length of her back in waves of curls. She glared at her surroundings as a Meowth climbed up her shoulder and latched his front paws there with a malicious expression on his face, tail slapping the air. "Sniff it out, Meowth," the woman ordered. The Meowth yowled happily as he jumped down. The creature opened his mouth and hissed, tasting the air with hyper-sensitive sensory glands that all Cat-Pokemon shared.

The other rider took off his helmet and smoothed his blue hair back into its pony-tail. Both riders looked almost as exhausted as the hiding Pokemon felt. The man had neglected whiskers on his face, which were forming a light beard. He stroked the five o'clock shadow as he sighed, "He's bound to be getting exhausted."

"Meowth is fine," snapped the woman.

"I mean the experiment," he corrected, scanning the trees. He dismounted and the hidden Pokemon tensed. The Meowth still scented the air, prowling carefully, as if checking to make sure he had accounted for every molecule.

"Jessie," began the man, "what makes you sure he stopped around here?"

"_It_ has been losing strength consistently. I've been calculating his stops and I know he's here."

The man frowned and turned away. "I'll make a sweep with Weezing." He unhooked the Pokeball from his belt and tossed it into the air. The round Pokemon floated in the air, its expression permanently stuck as a wheezing man. Puffs of nauseous gas escaped from the crater-like holes on the Pokemon.

The man led Weezing in the opposite direction of the Pokemon watching them.

The psychic Pokemon pressed his back against the rock and considered his options. He could sneak around and dispose of the man quickly and quietly. The wind was in his favor, at least, as he was downwind from them and the Meowth couldn't find him. Yet.

Why not catch them by surprise? He could dispatch the woman, Jessie, and her Meowth swiftly and escape before the man returned. He would love to see them bleed for the suffering they caused him.

Or he could sneak further downwind and hide in the forest. There had to be a cave somewhere he could stow away in, sleep for a minute, and regain some strength.

Against his bitterness, he decided to make his escape further downwind. He couldn't move as he normally did –manipulating physics to his will to glide. He swallowed his pride and crawled on his belly under the brush near his boulder. He flattened his body and tail to decrease the disturbance.

So far, so good.

Twigs and rocks scraped his chest, belly, legs, and chin, and stuck to his arms and paws. It was nothing compared to the months spent in a lab, pushing his powers as far as he could until the lab exploded from his rage. And the trials Giovanni put him through – the man needed to be stopped. Yet, he had the crime-boss to thank for his immeasurable prowess, his immense self-control, and the hollow coldness that threatened to consume his mind.

Stanlers lifted their heads and dashed off as he came up from the bush. The psychic Pokemon hoped that didn't compromise his position. He continued eastward and glided with his feet close to the ground.

Nothing mattered as his vision blurred, his mind wandering. He thought back to distant dreams. For all his mental focus and all his power, those memories or dreams or whatever they were remained beyond his reach. It frustrated him. They seemed important, if nothing else for the simple fact they were there, nagging him.

Before he knew it, he came to the shore of a lake. His jaw dropped as he scanned the water's edge, following the shore with his eyes. It zigzagged and slithered around, reaching the horizon as a black line of trees and houses. To the north, he saw a hill cut in half by the lake and flew eagerly to it.

With what little gusto he had left, he drew a circle with his padded finger and used his power to cut a cone out of the moss-covered clay. He withdrew the chunk and broke it up before gently putting it in the lake. Magikarp jumped and flailed in protest above the water, as if a thought passed through their blank eyes. He lifted his hands to touch the moss. He focused, his body trembling with effort, as he forced the moss to grow over the hole. He scolded himself for making the hole so large as he had to stop and drink the lake water. He tried again and managed to make a decent curtain.

Without a second thought, the Pokemon climbed inside and laid flat on the cold clay. He slipped into dreamless sleep. Not even the miserable Magikarp woke him.

Jessie kicked the boulder with her black boot. Exhaustion shortened her temper and dampened the thrill of the chase. She wanted it over with, as did, James, her partner. The Meowth curled his tail over his front paws, frowning. The scent was becoming muddled.

"You did fine," she answered and knelt to stroke the Meowth's head. Deep down, she had aa soft spot for the feline. She even gave a nickname for him, "Nene, keep going. I have more Goldeen for you."

The Meowth grinned and turned to continue sniffing about. He led her through the bushes, where a herd of Stanler jumped from their sleeping spots and scattered. Nene stopped and turned to Jessie, clearly at a loss.

"The Stanler covered up the scent, huh?" she picked up the Meowth. "It's been a long time since we've had a worthy opponent."

Nene gave a satisfied meow and Jessie turned to feed him. "It can't have gone far," she muttered to herself. They chased the experiment for two weeks – no Pokemon could survive this long without rest.

James met her at the boulder and asked, "No luck?"

"A herd of Stanler covered up its scent. I think it made a straight line east."

"There's a lake east of here."

"We can't lose him," she planted Meowth on the back of her seat and swung her leg over both the Pokemon and the ATV. James withdrew his Weezing to it's Pokeball and hopped on his machine while she sped off into the east and the wheels of her vehicle grazing the boulder. It ached him to watch him and his partner become sloppy as they chased this experiment. What had the scientists called it? Mewtwo?

They passed the clearing where the Stanler had been and sped through the underbrush, Furrets, Senerets, and sleeping Pidgeys scattering in their wake.

They ground to a halt at the lake and scanned around. The water looked untouched, except for a few leaping Magikarp. Stupid things probably didn't even have the brains to sleep. Jessie pulled her hair back into a ponytail, but the hair tie broke with a snap.

She tossed it into the water, anger boiling through her chest and arms – exhausted anger, which spent the last of her energy.

"How, James?" she ordered and turned to him behind her. He raised his eyebrows and she clarified, "We are the best Pokemon hunters in all of Kanto. We're Giovanni's best and brightest! How can we –"

He gave her a tender look, which made her pause and think. She sighed, surveying the lake again. Everything looked untouched. Meowth wasn't reacting to any scent, either. How could they lose the experiment?

Strong hands rested on her shoulders and James said quietly, "We can camp out, get a little sleep, and pick back up in the morning. If the experiment makes a move, Meowth will let us know, right?" He glanced at the Pokemon on the seat, who smiled up at him.

Jessie pulled her leg over the handlebars to face him and stared into his eyes. They were usually a cold, amber color, but the long nights and unending rides made them dark. If they didn't sleep now, they wouldn't be in ideal shape when the time came for capture.

"Fine," she shrugged and whipped out her Pokegear. "I'll call our supervisor and let him know."

"Don't forget the alarms," James warned as he steered the ATVs over to the underbrush behind them. The screen on the handheld lit up and Jessie dialed the number. She watched the little phone on the screen shake as the sound rang.

A man with light blue hair appeared on the screen. "Captain Butch," Jessie began, "we've chased him into Viridian forest. He's not going to escape our clutches."

Butch laughed, his smug face irking her pride. "So, you've met your match," he pointed out in his raspy, nail-on-chalkboard voice. She bit her tongue and answered, "He's not going to escape, Captain. I assure you."

"My hide is on the line, too," he answered in a more serious tone. "Do you need backup? I can send Captain Cassidy."

"No, sir," she answered quickly. "We can handle it." If Captain Cassidy came, it wouldn't look good on their final report, since she only joined members if they slacked off or were too incompetent. Besides, Captain Cassidy had the tendency to treat those under her like grunts.

"Alright. Giovanni is breathing down our necks to have that Pokemon caught. It's the most powerful thing in the world. If anyone makes contact with it, I want you to kill them too."

Jessie made a quick glance at the lights across the lake that were most likely houses. She didn't like the idea of killing humans, but it would have to be done. "I understand, sir," she answered.

"Get some rest," he added, a little more concerned, "I can't have my best dying from exhaustion. It looks bad to the higher-ups."

"We'd gladly push ourselves to death for the cause, sir."

"You look like you're already there," he teased. "Butch, out."

The screen went blank. Jessie pocketed the Pokegear before turning to find James watching her, his tender look a combination of infatuation and utter abandon to his exhaustion. Jessie cracked a smile on her thin lips before leaning against him. He swayed a little, but held strong as he wrapped his arms around her in an embrace. "We are a mess," he growled. "Was that concern in the captain's voice? I'm shocked."

"We look like crap."

He chuckled and led her to the campsite. A wide bedroll waited for them with the ATVs on either side, waiting for any sudden departure. The couple didn't even take off their boots or fix the covers to lay under. They curled together with Meowth curled across their hips.

For a split moment before they drifted off to sleep together, they remembered at time before black boots and red 'R's on shirts of the Rockets. They remembered living in mansions, dating each other, and then planning their wedding. A sucker for the exotic, Jessie wanted a Japanese wedding. A day after, their lives were ripped from them and they were thrown into the fray of the Rockets. For a moment, they were newlyweds again, celebrating - instead of ending - life.

Uncle Logan was almost an entirely different person when he listened to the radio. The way the announcers described the scenes as they happened made me feel like I was there, watching the Gengar fighting against the Houndoom. Uncle Logan was no longer the tame, lounging, old man, but a young, excited and impulsive. His eyes flickered as he imagined the Houndoom unleashing a flamethrower on the ghost, who dodged it with a high front-flip.

I, too, felt a little excited, but I felt a little disappointed I couldn't yell with Uncle Logan when he nagged the trainers to stay on point, get their Pokemon to dodge, or pay attention.

Mom placed a cup of chamomile on the table next to me. I smiled to her as she sat on the couch across from me with Ursaring. Ursaring held a mug of chamomile, but it dwarfed in her huge paw.

The announcer shouted, "The Gengar casts Curse and the Houndoom is down for the count!" Uncle Logan thrust his fists over his hands when the young trainer claimed victory over the other. "I can't believe it, folks! Tanner and his Gengar get to move on to the next round! What a show of sportsmanship! The two trainers are patting backs and shaking hands. Tanner seems like a good kid." Music faded in for an advertisement of the latest Pokegear – now including radio capabilities.

Uncle Logan nodded with a beam as he stood, "Sportsmanship is important. His parents should be proud." He turned to go to the kitchen, his swift walking making his limp worse.

Mom chuckled behind her cup of tea. "The teenager I journeyed with is still in there after all these years."

"Where did the limp come from?"

Uncle Logan returned with his cup of tea and answered, "An Agrigon crunched my leg when I was on my way to the Honen Elite Four. That was the end of my journeying. I applied for a Champion scholarship not long after."

"Agrigon?" I asked, the name unfamiliar to me.

"They're in the Honen region – across from Jhoto," Mom explained.

I nodded, "Oh, yeah. Honen." Sometimes it was hard to think there were other regions than Kanto and Jhoto.

"Drink your chamomile, baby," Mom said. I took it and sipped, savoring the earthy, sweet taste. I felt my muscles relax in minute intervals.

The advertisements on the radio ended and the first round of second tier trainers, those who defeated the Elite Four, began. A female trainer with a Vileplume matched against a young man with a Lucario.

"Anne," Mom said to me, "why don't you go to bed?"

I groaned with a frown and trudged to the stairs to our room.

I climbed into the tall bed and snuggled into the thick covers. I stared at the ceiling as my eyes adjusted to the darkness. The moonlight danced on the ceiling through the leaves of the tree outside. I closed my eyes to imagine my Pokémon journey.

Togekiss soared high above, cooing and purring as the air currents lifted her high, and she closed her wings to dive to the lake. I giggled as she splashed water on me. I jumped to the shore and scooped water to splash on her.

Dressed in our one-piece bathing suits and beach shorts, Mom, Ursaring, Togekiss, and I headed down to the lake near Uncle Logan's house. Uncle Logan had to leave for the retirement home for an emergency.

A small Krabby scuttled sideways by my left foot, squeaking and hissing a warning before leaping into the water. I joined Mom closer to the grass and she smiled to me. She hung a picnic basket full of our lunch in the crook of her arm. She wore sunglasses and a straw sunhat. Ursaring lumbered behind her, holding the lawn chairs, umbrellas, and a lace parasol.

"I'm so glad we came here," she mused to me. "I can't think of a better place to get away from it all."

"Me either," I answered. I grabbed Mom's arm, but saw Togekiss taunting me for a race along the water. "Can Togekiss and I race?"

"Certainly, but stay in sight."

I ran after the flying Pokémon, sand kicking up in my wake. Racing in flip-flops was not my best idea.

Magikarp leapt into the air, flapping noisily and glistening in the air. I kept my eye on Togekiss, splashing in the water and adjusting my path accordingly. I tripped over a Kingler, which spanned half my size and had a claw almost as big as me. It hissed angrily and chomped the air with it's oversized claw. Togekiss soared down onto my shoulder and unleashed a shout of Hyper Voice, which rattled my head. The Kingler shuttered, blinked, and growled as it scuttled into the water.

Shaken, I stood. Togekiss leapt into the air in front of me to look at me with concern. I smiled and reassured, "I'm alright." She rubbed her forehead to mine and we continued our race.

We headed back and Togekiss reached Mom first. Mom laughed at my disappointment and said to Togekiss on her arm, "You need to let Anne win sometimes."

Togekiss chirped something in response and Mom laughed aloud with her head cocked back. I frowned, "What did she say?"

"She said you'll never learn how to fly if you don't run faster."

"You're fibbing," I answered. "Your eyes tell me so."

"Oh, I'm teasing – there's a difference. She said she doesn't want to make it easier on her little sister."

"Why was it so funny?" I asked as I followed her up a hill carved in half by the lake. Mom placed the basket on the ground and answered, "It reminded me of Logan, honestly. He always said those things to your father. I was the little sister of the three of us. For a long time, we saw each other as siblings." She paused as she pulled out the gingham blanket. "Until the Trainer Festival when we faced off against each other. Something changed between us."

I grabbed the other end and we laid out the blanket. "Like what? How?" I asked as she handed me the paper plates to set. Ursaring stabbed the end of one of the umbrellas at the corner of the blanket, angling it so it blocked the sun across the setup.

"Well, we grew closer as siblings, but apart at the same time. As if the tournament gave us a chance to reevaluate our relationships. In fact, we didn't speak to each other for some time until later. It was when I realized I had been in love with your father the whole time. I loved your uncle too, but still as a brother. Sometimes, when I see him, I still feel like a young trainer." She sat, stretching her legs across the length of the cloth and crossing her ankles. Mom propped herself upright with her arm.

She looked so pretty, in her orange bathing suit and sunhat, I tried to do the same. To my disappointment, my legs didn't reach the other end of the blanket, so I laid on my side. Mom chuckled as she set out the containers and added, "I love you, too, Anne. I'm so proud of you. I can't wait until you leave for your journey and become the woman I know you will be."

I glanced up from the container of lemon squares and smiled. I didn't know how to respond. I ate a square and watched Togekiss singing in the breeze overhead and Ursaring leaning into the wind with her lace parasol on her shoulder. She looked so serine, even though her face barely changed from its usual serious expression.

Mom held on to her hat as the wind reached us, blowing our hair. She sighed heavily, "Ah! What a day!" and laid down on her back. I laid down too, after grabbing another lemon square. I watched the clouds peeking around the umbrella for a while, the wind stirring up a flock of Butterfree. The Butterfree sparkled in the sunlight as they squeaked and cried their calls of freedom.

I stole a glance at Mom. My eyes stung when I saw her lip quivering and the sides of her face soaked from tears. I turned away in case she noticed me – I couldn't have her know I knew. What could I do for her? How could I help her?

A brown and white paw reached over and stole the container of sandwiches. Mom and I shot upright when we heard a plastic glass spill over. Mom gasped, "A Meowth! What's it doing out here?"

The Meowth grinned at her mischievously and dashed off, bounding on its hind legs like a human, down the hill. Ursaring, with her lace parasol, reached down and picked up the Meowth by the scruff of its neck. The Meowth's eyes grew large and its jaw dropped. The Scratch Cat's eyes rolled back and it fainted. Ursaring raised her eyebrows and lowered the Meowth to the ground before pulling the container from its paws.

The Meowth woke quickly and used Thief on the Hibernator, stealing the container and kicking Ursaring in the snout. Ursaring stood straight, a calm expression on her face, and carefully closed the parasol with the tips of her sharp claws. She gently laid it down before lumbering after the Meowth, roaring.

Mom and I chased Ursaring. I slipped down the slick grass and saw Ursaring stop when the Meowth bounded up to a couple in bathing suits. Mom and I approached Ursaring, who still looked determined, and Mom greeted, "Why, hello there!"

The woman with the red, bounding hair whipped on her heel to face us. Her bathing suit was a single piece with large, red flowers printed on a light orange background. The man with her had long, blue dyed hair, a goatee, and a pair of swimming trunks on. The woman smiled and picked up the Meowth holding the sandwich container. "Is this yours?" she asked as she tugged it from the Scratch Cat's paws.

Mom chuckled, "Yes, it is. Is your Meowth hungry?"

"Yes," answered the woman. "We skipped lunch today – a mistake, right Nene?"

"Well, join us for lunch. We have more than enough."

The man stood from his kneeling spot on the shore. "Oh," he answered, "I'm sure we'd be a bother."

"No, I insist." She motioned them up the hill and they followed us to the picnic.

I sat close to Mom and felt strange around the couple. "I'm Jessie and this is my husband, James," the redhead said as she piled her plate with lemon squares, sandwich halves, chicken wraps, and broccoli pasta salad. We made all kinds of sandwiches: PB and J, ham and cheese, and cucumber sandwiches.

The man, too, had his plate piled. James gave Jessie his hair tie and she gratefully took it. "So, do you two live around here?" asked Jessie as she pulled her thick hair back.

"No," answered Mom, "We're here on vacation. My brother-in-law is kind enough to let us stay with him in the town nearby. I'm Cynthia and this is my daughter, Anne." I flashed them a smile before digging into my turkey wrap. Why was Mom lying to them?

Jessie and James chowed down almost as greedily as their Meowth, Nene, who inhaled the last of the chicken wraps. At the end of the blanket sat Ursaring, with her parasol on her shoulder. She watched the couple closely, slowly eating a pawful of lemon squares. I wondered how many containers of those tiny cakes Mom packed.

"So," Mom added, "what are you two doing out here? Taking a vacation, too, I assume."

"Oh, yes. The city life is so exhausting sometimes. I love the woods. James can't stand camping."

"It's growing on me, actually," he remarked from behind his orange juice.

There was a moment of silence. Togekiss snatched a chicken wrap from the plate Meowth ate out of and the Scratch Cat gave chase. The breeze came, threatening to knock over the umbrella providing our shade. The man lifted his arm to pull back his blue hair from his face and glanced at the horizon.

I felt Mom tense and saw the tattoo on the underside of his arm. A red "R" marked the underside of his forearm, right in the center. Fire ran the length of my back and into my skull, but made my face cold. I recognized the symbol – Team Rocket.

The man, unaware of our discovery, lowered his arm as the wind died down. Their Meowth returned, unsuccessful in snatching away the chicken wrap, and Jessie pulled him onto her strong legs. He curled there, content.

Mom shifted her weight and asked calmly, "How long have you two been married?"

"About seven years," Jessie answered. "It's had rough spots, but we've been stronger for it."

The man nodded in a agreement. "It's her personality that made it the roughest," he added with a smirk. She gasped and slapped his shoulder. I saw a flash of red on her forearm, too. My face turned red and I wanted to throw up. We were eating with bad guys!

I glanced up at Mom and scooted closer. Mom put her hand on my shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly. "What do you two do for a living? You said you live in the city?"

"My father passed his computer chip business to us when he passed. Our company was bought by Sylph Co."

"I remember when that happened. They made great advancements because of that."

"Are you a technology buff?"

"I like to keep up-to-date. My husband w—is a journalist. He covered the story." She paused. "Then you two are rich?"

"We don't like to flaunt it," explained James. "It gets cumbersome."

Ursaring stood and closed the parasol to place it carefully on the grass. The couple's smiles wavered for a moment before Ursaring turned to straighten the umbrella. James laid to the side on one elbow with his legs curled up. The Meowth looked at him, obviously annoyed the man's head threatened his lap space.

"How long do you two plan to stay?" Mom asked.

"Not much longer. I was hoping to find a Pokémon before we left. I've heard it hangs around Viridian Forest." Jessie stroked Meowth's coat.

"I know these woods fairly well," Mom remarked. "I could help you look."

"No," Jessie laughed, "I don't want to be a bother. We would rather find it ourselves, anyway. No sense in involving you."

"No," Mom answered. "I insist."

The couple glanced at one another and Jessie said, "Well, I don't think it will be here much longer, so we should hurry if we want to track it down." She stood with the Meowth in her arm. Mom and I stood with them, but Mom grabbed my arm and said, "Anne, dear, why don't you and Togakiss pack up? Then take the basket back to the house?"

I glanced between them. Jessie glared at Mom and asked, "Are you sure it's safe to let her walk all that way to town?"

"I'm certain. Togakiss is a great guardian." She nodded to the graceful Pokémon, who gave a regal bow.

The redhead's shoulders relaxed and she said to me, "You are a blessed little girl to have such a thoughtful Mom."

I smiled to her before motioning Togakiss to help me pack. Why was Mom going with the bad guys? To keep them from me? "Should we help?" I asked Togakiss. The Pokémon's expression looked concerned and confused. She knew something was up, too.

I watched Mom follow the couple down the hill to the lake. I crawled to the edge where the lake had carved the hill in half at the crest.

Jessie's mind worked to find a way to get rid of the woman. At least she would not have to shoot the little girl. The girl would have her father to take care of her, at least. Jessie glanced at James and pointed with two fingers to the underbrush several feet away where the ATVs waited for them.

She turned to Cynthia. The woman looked like she imagined any mother should look – beautiful, kind, sensitive but protective and stoic when needed. Right now, the mother was certainly putting on protective airs.

"Be honest, Cynthia," Jessie said. "Your brother-in-law doesn't live in the city. I know a mother like you would not send her daughter to a house that's over ten miles away."

Her expression did not change, but her eyes flickered over to the right, telling Jessie everything she needed to know.

"Why lie to me; a stranger?" Jessie asked, lifting her nose a bit to show her confidence and knowledge of the truth.

Cynthia put her hand on her hat as the breeze made it flutter at the edges and answered, "I'm a private woman."

"And your husband is dead, isn't he? You hesitated when you referred to him in the present tense."

She smirked and answered, "You're quick."

"You're intuitive." Jessie turned to find James in his full gear and pushing both ATVs through the bushes by the middle of their handlebars. He brought the duffle bag to her, informing, "The clothes dried."

"Thank you," Jessie answered and the pair dressed. They wore their clean outfits over their swimsuits.

"So, you're not married?" asked Cynthia.

"We are," answered James, his shoulders more square now. "We were abducted by the Rockets after our wedding, on our honeymoon. They made us join."

"Now," added Jessie as she zipped up her boots, "we are Team Rocket Pokémon Hunters." She stood, dressed in a black, tight t-shirt, skinny black jeans, and knee-high combat boots. James' outfit was a masculine version of hers.

Cynthia tensed, her hand automatically reaching for her Pokéball belt, but she gritted her teeth when there was nothing. "Alright," she began, "let me help you, only if you promise you let me free when we find the Pokemon."

Jessie grinned, "Fine. If we let you go, you won't tell anyone we were here? No one?"

"I won't say a word," she answered and straightened her back. The woman gained some confidence.

Jessie felt some relief and added, "I'm glad we could strike this bargain. You see, unlike many of our brothers, we don't like spilling human blood. However, if you betray us in any way, our hand will be forced."

Cynthia nodded.

"Now, to business," said James as he stepped forward. "We lost the trail at this lake. We doubt he's moved on, as we pushed him for two weeks."

Something in the woman's face said she recognized something and her eyes flashed back and forth, but Jessie was not sure as to what. "What is it?" she asked.

The woman snapped her attention to Jessie and answered, "Nothing."

"Is it about the Pokémon?" James ordered, putting his thumbs in his pockets.

"No," Cynthia answered, "it was about my husband, is all. Now, it's possible the Pokémon hid somewhere in the forest."

"Any caves you know of?"

"A few."

Jessie stepped forward, "Show us." Cynthia nodded grimly.

To my horror, Mom climbed on the ATV behind the redhead woman and they drove off into the forest. Togekiss groaned worriedly and Ursaring growled behind us. We turned to see her wielding her parasol like a police baton. "Should we go after her?" I asked Ursaring. The creature nodded, but Togakiss gave protesting coos.

What if it all goes wrong and Mom is shot? Tears flung to my eyes and I sobbed abruptly. Ursaring blinked and picked me up to hug me tightly. I sobbed even harder, wailing, now. Why Mom? Why now?

"Amber," Mewtwo gasped, tossing and turning in the makeshift cave. The girl in the moon smiled to him in his dreams and reassured him – but he couldn't hear her words. Tears fell down the sides of his face and he woke.

The girl still alluded him. Even in his waking moments, he heard her crying. He rubbed his face and sat for a moment, taking in his surroundings.

No, the crying wasn't in his head – it was outside.

The crying suddenly turned to shouts, "No! Ursaring! Don't go!"

He had to peek outside through the moss curtain. He saw an Ursaring with a Pokéball belt it one claw, heading for the forest. A little girl with brown, flowing hair, dressed in a pink swimsuit, and matching beach shorts slid down the slope after it. A Togekiss soared onto the girl's shoulder and put a wing around the girl's head, comforting her. The girl's shaking knees collapsed and she curled there with her forehead on the sand, sobbing.

Mewtwo laid back down. He could not risk exposure, or he could himself and the girl in danger. He closed his eyes and tried to go to sleep. He could not involve himself.

"Mom," the girl's quivering voice came to him as he hung between blissful sleep and abominable waking. "Please, Ursaring. Save her from the bad guys!" she sobbed.

He sat upright, careful not to hit his head. He crawled to the entrance and saw the girl still there, hiccupping and crying.

Mewtwo bit his bottom lip and decided to find out what she meant by bad guys. He reached out with his telepathy and reached into her mind, digging through the images of the day. Images of the girl's mother and father barraged him, at first. The girl's mind was overwhelmed with her grief, especially when he saw the face of the father. His heart cringed – he recognized the man.

"Jase," he whispered and inhaled deeply to calm himself. The girl's emotions made it hard for him to maintain composure and properly search. He reached again, but images of his pursuers met him instantly – the man with the red R tattoo and the woman with the matching one.

Mewtwo opened his eyes as dread sunk in and knew he had to help the girl. She was the daughter of Jase, the man who set him free in his dying moments. He owed the man his life.

He assessed his body, realizing hunger gnawed at his stomach and made him sick. He hadn't even regained all of his energy, either. He mouth was dry and throat parched. He needed sharp precision to end any battles quickly.

The psychic Pokémon reached out and scooped a pawful of water to wet his tongue. He bent physics around him and soared out of the hole. The girl still curled there on the ground, sobbing with the Togekiss comforting her.

"Little girl?" he spoke with his mind. The girl shot upright with a sharp gasp and her fear hit him like ice water. He hovered closer and she asked, "What Pokémon are you?"

"My name is Mewtwo," he answered, "and we need to hurry if you want to save your mother. That Ursaring is not going to make it before they decide to kill her."

The girl stood and wiped her face with her arms. "Why are you helping me?"

"Those Rockets are looking for me. We have a common enemy and they must be stopped."

She wrinkled her brow and exchanged glances with the Togekiss. She inhaled deeply and said, "Okay, let's go save Mom."

Mewtwo focused on the girl and lifted her with his mind.

I felt the lifting sensation in my chest, first and it expanded throughout my body until I lifted off the ground. My hair flowed about me, like floating in water. Mewtwo, tall and lithe, drew me closer to him. His smooth brow wrinkled and the sensation left my heart.

"You should carry me if it's too hard. You look tired," I remarked as I noticed the darkness in his eyes and the circles under them.

He hesitated before holding his arms out to me. "We have food, too," I said as he turned me sideways to cradle me in his thin arms.

"We don't have time to eat," he answered and glanced at the Jubilee Pokémon, who floated next to him. His face was like flint, so serious and determined. I wrapped my arm around his neck and flinched when I felt a tube looping from the base of his neck to the base of his skull. "It won't hurt," he reassured. I slipped my arm through the loop. "Just be careful when you move your arm. Those are nerves."

I nodded and he shot off into the sky, my stomach lurching into my spine. Togekiss kept up with us fine, grinning from ear to ear. I held on tightly and watched forest and field become a patchwork of greens surrounding a blue gem.

Dots appeared on my vision and my eyes swam in their sockets for a moment. I squeezed them shut and waited for the dizziness to pass.

Togekiss trilled and I opened my eyes to see her diving for the forest. Mewtwo followed her at high speed. I lifted an arm to block the wind from buffeting my eyes.

There we saw a brown dot in a field, running as fast as her thick legs allowed. Ursaring turned when she heard Togekiss calling to her and slid to a stop. I waved to her as we came closer and said, "We have help! We can save Mom!"

Ursaring held up the Pokéball belt and growled at Mewtwo. He said to her, "We have the same goal: Stop Team Rocket. I'll take you to her." He paused when Ursaring's scowl didn't change. "Cynthia is important to you and you'd do anything to protect her. I won't pretend to understand your fear, but I sense it. It's a fire inside you, driving you."

She relaxed and nodded.

"Save your anger," he stated. "You need it when you face off against the Rockets." Mewtwo focused on the Hibernator Pokémon and she lifted off the ground, an expression of shock on her face. She levitated close to us and she growled something to Mewtwo. He nodded and our group soared above the trees.


	3. Chapter 3

Jessie slowed her ATV down at the cave entrance. She dismounted, swinging her leg over the handlebars. James held out handcuffs and Cynthia protested, "You don't have to cuff me. You've already done that with my life."

The Rocket woman flicked a wild lock out of her face and snatched her standard issue Glock from the holster on her side. "Then you go in the cave and look for the Pokémon."

"I don't know what it looks like."

She smirked and answered, "You'll know when you see it. It's a Psychic-type, tall, and purple with a tail. It was an experiment and escaped."

Cynthia slid off the seat and straightened her back as she strode to the cave. Jessie liked her calm demeanor and wondered if this was a regular thing for a reporter's wife. She kept the barrel trained on Cynthia as she peered inside the cave. "Its dark," she called. "But I don't see anything."

James dug in the saddlebag and rolled the heavy, triple-duty flashlight to her. She grabbed it and shined the light inside. Jessie flashed him a glare and hissed, "You idiot!" He raised his eyebrows in confusion.

"Nothing is here except a few Zubat and Golbat," called Cynthia.

"Roll the flashlight to me," ordered Jessie. James put a hand on his forehead when he realized his mistake – the prisoner could use the flashlight as a club. Cynthia did as told and Jessie passed it to her husband. She could not have it within reach or range of her skull.

Meowth gave a sharp hiss and Jessie spun to see him hissing at the sky. "What is it, Meowth?" He raised on his hind legs and used Hone Claws to improve his accuracy and attack.

She looked and saw the Psychic-type with Cynthia's Togekiss and Ursaring. She smirked and called out, "I didn't take you for a hero, Mewtwo!"

The Pokémon didn't answer and waved his paw. The ATVs and Team Rocket floated a foot in the air before flinging to the opposite edge of the clearing. Shaken, Jessie raised her head and saw the Pokémon group float down to Cynthia.

"Where is Anne?" she heard Cynthia ask as she took the Pokéball belt and cinched it around her waist.

"She's safe," Mewtwo replied.

Jessie shot to her feet while James groaned behind her. She grabbed a Pokéball off her belt and tossed it into the air, snapping, "Arbok! Use Gunk Shot on Ursaring and Togekiss!"

The Pokéball spilled out a purple cobra Pokémon as tall as Jessie. It coiled between them and opened its hood and unleashed a chunk of vomit at the two Pokémon, but Cynthia withdrew them into their Pokéballs before the attack could reach them.

Jessie glanced at James, who moaned and twitched an arm. "James, get up!" The man didn't move.

Cynthia called out, "Go, Sableye! Let's help out Mewtwo!" The little ghost-dark Pokémon with its bejeweled body leapt out of the Pokéball, grinning eagerly and clapping his hands. "Use Will-O-Wisp on Meowth!"

It formed a ball of blue and purple fire between it's paws and threw it at Meowth, who had recovered from the toss. The flame multiplied into a trail of six flames, which encircled Meowth. "Smart," remarked Jessie. "Meowth…" She realized Meowth was useless with his normal and dark-type moves. She withdrew him into the Pokéball, the flames following him inside.

"Go, Wobuffet!" she tossed her Great Pokéball into the air and the blue blob of psychic energy tumbled out, swaying back and forth. "Use Safeguard!"

Cynthia gritted her teeth and withdrew Sableye. "Mewtwo, I can't help you if you don't tell me your move set."

Mewtwo next to her looked down at her and mentally told her. Jessie gritted her teeth. So far, he had only used Psystrike on them during their pursuit. Cynthia nodded and sent out her Gardevoir, shouting, "Use Moonbeam!"

The beautiful Pokémon gracefully joined the field and summoned a white beam of light from her forehead.

"Arbok! Dodge!" Arbok cleared the beam by mere inches, while Wobbuffet absorbed most of the damage, with his high health.

Mewtwo's eyes glowed light blue and Jessie recognized it as Calm Mind status move. She was going to get the fight of her life, but realized he must feel starved and was looking for a quick end to the battle. Gardevoir had the potential for good support moves, too.

Cynthia confirmed her suspicions when she had Gardevoir cast Protect over the two. Mewtwo shot Psystrike at Arbok, who managed to dodge. Jessie knew he wouldn't last long with that guard. She had to slip in a poison attack.

"Use Slam," Jessie ordered. The Snake Pokémon shot over to the two and hurled its tail down on top of them. The guard held up. "Keep it up, Arbok! Break through their defenses!"

He obeyed, bashing the glittering shield hovering around them. Gardevoir flinched with each strike, struggling to hold the shield. Mewtwo, again, cast Calm Mind as his eyes glowed electric blue.

James stepped forward to join Jessie and sent out Carnivine. "Sorry, hon," he grunted before ordering, "Carnivine, use vine whip on the shield!" The green plant Pokémon grew little vines, which struck the shield with cutting accuracy.

"Its alright. We need to poison Mewtwo and shoot the woman," Jessie explained.

"We need a smokescreen." He chunked the next Pokéball into the air and ordered, "Weezing! Use Smokescreen!"

The three-headed, rocky balloon of gas belched from its gapped teeth, hissing and wheezing like its namesake. It sailed over the scene with a black smoke filling the clearing. Safe in their bubble, Cynthia strained to see. Nothing moved, as far as she could tell. She bit her bottom lip, straining to listen. Silence mixed with the smog.

A single gunshot exploded the tense silence and the shield shattered into pieces. The smog dissipated and Jessie stood in front of Cynthia, the barrel of the gun pointed squarely at the trainer's head. She shouted, "No one move!"

Cynthia tensed and snapped through her teeth, "Have you no honor?"

Jessie cackled, her expression smug, and asked, "How dumb are you? I'm Team Rocket." She locked her eyes onto Mewtwo, "You. I've had enough of you. Get back before I blow her head off."

The tall Pokémon narrowed his eyes and mentally boomed into all of their heads, "ENOUGH." A psychic hand threw Jessie into James like rag dolls.

A Poison Jab stabbed into his back. His eyes rolled back and he fell to the ground with a thud. Cynthia jumped to his side, "Mewtwo! Get up!"

Arbok loomed over her and she locked eyes with it. Jessie climbed to her feet and roared, "Just bite that woman's head off! I don't care any more!"

"STOP!" a shriek came to their left and the Arbok recoiled in shock. All eyes settled on the girl with the wet, red face and angry eyes. She raced between Team Rocket and her mother. "What did my Mom do to you? Stop killing people!" she screamed.

"Anne, get out of here," her mother ordered.

Anne stared hard into Jessie's eyes, who returned with a glare.

James grabbed her gun arm and lowered it. "Stop," he hissed. "Mewtwo is almost dead. We don't want to kill these two."

"I'm not letting you have Mewtwo," Cynthia declared. "My husband's last act was letting this Pokémon go. If his dying wish was it's freedom, then so be it." She unleashed her tall Charizard. "Flamethrower on Arbok! Gardevoir, use Psychic send them out of here!"

The Pokémon did as told, a cone of overwhelming flames hit the Arbok head-on, knocking it out instantly. The graceful Gardevoir lifted its arms with eyes glowing to levitate the couple together with their Pokémon and vehicles.

Jessie caught a glimpse of Mewtwo straining to stand, its own eyes glowing. She heard him whisper in their ears, "You will not remember their faces. I will send you away from here." A blinding light engulfed her vision.

Raichu bounded in front of him. It had been a close call, as Mr. Blanche had a mini-heart attack. Logan fixed his rimmed hat as he sighed, "Well, Raichu. What do you think?" He dragged his lead-filled boots along the dirt road. "Should we get Rodi to turn on a hot bath tonight and soak?"

The orange mouse wasn't listening as it stood straight, listening. The dusk air was silent, except for the distant Poliwhirls croaking.

Two engines whined and two pairs of headlights beamed at him. "Come here, Raichu," Logan ordered and knelt let Raichu up his arm. The ATVs halted and the female rider in black turned to him. She lifted her helmet off and sighed, "Have you seen an unusual Pokémon around here? We believe it is dangerous."

"No," Logan answered as his old instincts kicked in, "I haven't. What happened?"

The red-haired woman scanned him as he stood up, knees popping. "There was an accident during a transportation," she answered. "We want to recapture the beast as soon as possible."

"I'll keep an eye out," he reassured. "Anyone I can call?"

She reached into her black jeans and held out a card for a "Sylph Co. Safety Department Agency". Logan stuffed the card into his back pocket and nodded, hoping it was enough.

It seemed to work, as the woman shoved her helmet back on and throttled the ATV to life. He watched them speed away, knowing from experience they were despised Pokémon Hunters. He had taken down plenty in his day to know the difference.

Raichu growled on his shoulder, electricity sparking in his ear. The old Champion reassured, "It's alright. It's not our problem anymore. I'll call Officer Peterson when I get home." He turned to continue his trek.


	4. Chapter 4

He dropped his hat when he saw the Pokémon stretched on the couch and the Antidote syringe and a bottle of Super Potion emptied of their contents on the coffee table. A near-depleted roll of bandages sat on the table and a pair of scissors lay open on the floor. Logan gasped, "What Pokémon is that? What have you been doing?"

"Its called Mewtwo," sighed Cynthia, exasperation and exhaustion in her voice as she stood from her kneeling spot next to the Pokémon. "Its been badly hurt and pushed to the brink of exhaustion. It helped save our lives."

"'Our lives?'" Logan echoed as he approached her. "Where's Anne?"

"In the kitchen." She motioned behind him with a wave of the hand.

His expression softened and he took her by the shoulders. "Its nothing," she protested, reading his mind, "the shock wore off – that's all."

"Go to bed and let me handle this."

She shook her head.

"Then sit down. I can't worry about you too."

Cynthia nodded, half defeated and half resigned. She sat in the recliner with a sigh. "I did what I could," she informed.

"Thank you," he answered.

He stepped over to see Rodi setting a cup of hot cocoa in front of the little girl in a t-shirt too big for her. She leaned against her arm, eyes dark and downcast.

Logan turned to see his Raichu already examining the lithe Pokémon, its paws to work checking for a pulse and listening for a heartbeat. He rolled his sleeves to the elbow to join his trusty Pokémon.

It did not take much to reveal this Mewtwo was malnourished, dehydrated, and barely alive. The Super-Potion helped heal any cuts and bruises, and the Antidote kept the poison at bay until he could extract it and make a better Antidote. It was the old, inconvenient way before the instantaneous Pokémon Center technology, but it would have to do since Cynthia insisted on no centers. She explained it was a wanted experiment – the one his brother had saved.

He watched the tube fill with blood. "I happened across a pair of Pokémon Hunters while I was on my way here," he began and glanced at Cynthia, who sat at weary attention. She kept her eyes on his work. "Where those two the cause of this?" he asked. She nodded, closing her eyes. She leaned back into the recliner to speak.

"Mom?" Anne's voice cut Cynthia off. "Is Mewtwo going to be okay?"

Cynthia sighed and motioned the girl to sit in her lap with a brief pat. The girl tiptoed to her and climbed up with a frown. "Mewtwo will be fine, sweetie. Especially now that Logan is here," Cynthia answered and stroked her hair. Anne burst into tears from sheer exhaustion.

Logan gave Cynthia a silent plea to take Anne to their room. Cynthia lifted Anne and carried her upstairs.

The doctor turned to his patient to finish his formula. His Raichu placed a wet washcloth on the Pokémon's forehead and glanced to Logan with a worried squeak. Logan sighed and said to the Psychic type, "You need to survive. You saved their lives and my brother sacrificed himself to save you." He grabbed a vial full of yellow liquid medicine in the kit Rodi brought to him. "You owe it to them."

He drew the medicine from the vial and found a vein to stick the needle into. He grimaced at the amount of scars from IVs in the Pokémon's arm. "You've been through a lot. Giving up might feel like the best option – believe me, I know. I've been there. But you have to see the world. You have to know that life is wonderful."

Mom pulled the covers up to my chin and stroked my hair in comfort. "Its alright," she whispered as I hiccupped. "Its alright."

She gave me a kiss, one of the last things I remembered from that night before I fell asleep and slipped into a dream.

It felt claustrophobic and dark as I found myself falling into darkness. I settled into a cold, viscous fluid and sunk in. This wasn't right. The world was cold and liquid, with metal all around. I saw a low light ahead of me when I settled and squinted to see better. My forehead bumped something – a glass.

"Hello?" I called out and pressed my nose to the glass to see Mewtwo curled in a tight ball. "Hey! Mewtwo!" I shouted and banged on the glass. "Help!" I felt around and found myself in no some kind of tube. I tried to find the top, but it was too tall.

"Mewtwo!" I hit the glass a few more times, but it hurt my hands. A realization hit me – Dad told me to look at my hands when I was in a scary dream, then I could control it. I looked at the dream hands, which looked ghost-like and glitched out compared to my real hands.

This was a dream, I told myself.

The claustrophobia disappeared and I drifted closer to Mewtwo. I pressed my hands to the glass and made it disappear with a blink of the eyes. "Mewtwo, wake up," I hissed as I shook his arm. He decreased in size before my eyes and uncurled to face away from me. He was my height, and maybe a little thinner.

Before me materialized three Pokémon: Charmander, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur, but each had dark markings, like scars, all over their bodies. I let go of the psychic type and watched as the four of them spun in a small circle, like a game of ring around the rosy.

"Mewtwo?" I finally found my voice. The smaller Mewtwo looked at me, his eyes wide and innocent, not hard and cold as now.

"Amber?" he asked as he floated closer to me, his voice no more than a tiny whisper. I shook my head. "I'm Anne Noon."

His brow furrowed before he squeezed his eyes shut and put a hand to his face. The three starter Pokémon disappeared in shimmers of light. Mewtwo groaned in my head. "I don't remember. The memories. They're blank. Gone."

"Its okay," I whispered and put a hand on his shoulder.

"No," he mumbled and turned away from me.

"What are you doing here?" asked a deeper voice behind me. I turned and found a taller Mewtwo, his eyes sharp and cold now. His brow furrowed ever slightly. "How did you get in my head?"

I shook my head and answered, "I don't know."

"I remember your voice. I remember hearing you cry."

"Crying is stupid," I answered as I looked away from him. "I was tired. I shouldn't cry. Mom needs me to be strong like her."

"Your mother sounds lucky to have you."

I thought about the picnic from before. Suddenly, the dark landscape we sat in faded away and the beautiful spring scene replaced it. I was in my bathing suit again and we stood at the edge of the picnic blanket. Mewtwo stared down at the set up and scanned the horizon. I sat down to eat some of the lemon squares.

"Its beautiful," he whispered. The forest and hills sprawled out before us. "This is the first time I've ever stopped to look around at the world." He folded his hands behind his back and it all in.

Butterfree soared above us, crying out in their sad, squeaking voices.

Mewtwo sat next to me and picked up a sandwich triangle. "I'm so hungry. I haven't eaten in days." He bit into it and frowned. "It's a dream," he reminded himself.

"But its good," I added. He put the square down and sighed, laying his arm on his knee. His long tail waved back and forth. "You know, I should thank you. You and your mother helped me tap into power I didn't know I had – I erased Team Rocket's memories of you and the battle. I didn't know I could." He paused to lean his face into the wind.

"Oh," I said. "Well. You're welcome."

"Something else, too. There's a lot about the world I don't understand. So little I've seen and heard and experienced." He picked a blade of grass. "I… I don't know why life is wonderful. But every night, I dream of a girl's voice who tells me so." He peered at me, the amethyst in his eyes turning soft. "Do you know why life is supposed to be wonderful?"

I thought for a moment. I shook my head when nothing came to mind. Except something popped up. "Oh, uh, maybe love makes it wonderful?"

He considered this, his eyes drifting over the horizon. Clouds sped along, racing with the wind and the trees applauded the beauty of the noontime.

"What do you think about me staying with you and your mother for a little while? At least until I can get a grasp on things and Team Rocket will stop looking for me."

"I think Mom would like that. Without Dad… I don't know." I curled my knees close to my chest. "I don't know what the future looks like anymore. I used to wake up and know what the day would be like. But now…" The landscape became overcast as a cloud blocked the sun. "You know?"

"I think I can sympathize," he answered and reached over hesitantly to touch my shoulder. "Its… Its alright, Anne."

I smiled to him and crawled closer to him to hug his side. He felt thin and lanky, but it was easier to hug. He held his arms up, unsure what to do. "I'm giving you a hug," I informed. "Do you know what a hug is?"

He put his arms around me and answered, "I think I do now."

We sat in silence and watched the sun come out from behind the clouds, the lake below shimmering and dancing like a jewel.

The morning light woke him, filtered into the windows by the lace curtains. Mewtwo felt sore from head to toe and still exhausted. He blinked and tried to grip his hands to no avail. He cursed the countless days spent running and cursed the hunters whose faces were still imprinted in his mind.

Jase. His mind went back to him and he remembered the dream conversation with Anne. He owed it to them to stay alive. He remembered Jase's smiling face and the conversations they held, though they only lasted minutes. The undercover reporter had become a highlight in his meager existence.

The man had already been there when Mewtwo was transferred to Giovanni's laboratory facility. Jase had been a swirl of emotions – homesickness, disgust, and nervous tension – where others in the facility were husks, mere vessels of hatred. Because of Jase, he found not all humans were like those in Team Rocket.

While Giovanni made Mewtwo work on his powers and honing his skills, Jase taught Mewtwo a little more about the world by sharing memories and thoughts with him. Jase felt nothing but affection and maybe pity for the experiment as the pair often discussed human hierarchy, geography, and other things alien to Mewtwo's metal, glass, and weaponized world.

He lifted a weak arm to look at his hand. Now Jase's family might teach him about life. He could start living. He could be a real Pokémon – something the scientists made sure he knew he was not. He was a clone. A fake. A puppet for Giovanni.

Pain ached through his arm and he lowered it, grimacing. His chest felt sore with each breath and it hurt to move. He closed his eyes to let the ache flow through him, ebbing like heavy ocean waves.

"Mewtwo," whispered a voice and he opened his eyes to see Cynthia kneeling next to him. "Sorry to disturb you. Do you think you can eat?"

"How…? How long have I been out?" he asked with his thoughts, the only way he knew how to speak.

She smiled to him. "Two days," she answered. "We weren't sure you'd make it." She glanced at the man slumbering in the chair next to her with a Raichu in his lap.

"Is that Jase's brother? He told me about him. About you and your adventures together." He sighed. "Your daughter told me a lot, too."

"I know. She's been dreaming about you," she explained as she stood. "I'll be back with soup."

He watched her tiptoe to the kitchen to his right. Pain grabbed his attention again and shook him with pins and needles everywhere. He closed his eyes to fight it.

Cynthia returned with a bowl of Torchic noodle soup. She placed it on the table next to the couch and lifted Mewtwo gently with her cool hands. She sat on the couch and cradled him in her lap so his head leaned against her shoulder.

"Thank you," he sighed as he stared into her calm eyes. She placed the lip of the bowl to his lips and he sipped the liquid eagerly. He coughed when some of it went down the wrong pipe. Cynthia smiled as she placed the bowl on the table and wiped his mouth as he coughed for breath. "Its alright," she reassured him with a whisper.

He wanted to fall asleep again, the exhaustion from exerting his body to cough was more than enough, but his hunger demanded he stay awake. Mewtwo stared into Cynthia's eyes, entranced by her calm demeanor. He drank more of the warm soup and felt it tickle down into his empty stomach.

"How does that feel? Good?"

"Yes. I'm so tired."

"That sounds about right. You were almost dead. We can't have you dying on us."

"Why am I in so much pain?"

"Don't worry about the pain. Drink." She put the bowl to his lips again.

Once he finished the soup, she laid him out on the couch again and covered him with a fleece blanket. Tears filled his eyes and he sobbed, "I'm a monster. I'm a fake – a, a copy. You should have left me to die."

She stroked his crown as the tears flowed. She wiped them up with the unused corner of the napkin and knelt next to him. "You're not a monster," she whispered, her voice firm. "If my husband saw it fit to free you, he knew there was good in you. Let go of whatever those scientists told you."

Mewtwo squeezed his eyes shut as a sob caught in his throat. "What's wrong with me?"

"You've been through a trauma. You're in a vulnerable state, emotionally and physically. We all need to heal from this." She continued to wipe up the tears. He looked at her and whispered, "Thank you."

He caught a glimpse of tears in her eyes as well before she blinked them away and nodded. "Go to sleep, now," she ordered.

He found it was easy to follow her command.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: The dotted lines were created by my document and I can't seem to remove them. They automatically started to come in for the *** which stood for scene change/passage of time. This was due to the fact I'm posting to Watt Pad and my phone hates me. In order to post everything to Watt Pad, I had to have the ***. Thanks for your patience.

Mewtwo spent most of his time on the couch, either sleeping or eating. Most of the clamor, if there was any, went on upstairs or in the kitchen. Logan, as he learned the doctor's name, moved the radio system into the kitchen to listen to the Pokémon battles in there. Mewtwo tried to glean off Logan's mind when the tournaments started, as his mind was certainly a whirlwind of emotions and images. But it was exhausting to weave through everything and Mewtwo would often give up before the first battle was over.

Anne would spend as much time as possible with him, drawing in a sketchbook or reading aloud to him, or simply sitting there, her mind a feast of imagination. Oftentimes, Cynthia made her go outside and play with Togakiss to relieve him. He liked having Anne around – something about Anne's mind attracted him. Maybe it was the sheer innocence he sensed from her, or her abundance of acceptance. Maybe her active imagination appealed to his attention-starved mind.

Either way, he found he was always ready to sleep when Anne left. He hated to admit that her presence exhausted him, too. She was like a ray of sunshine and a grand playground for his mind. He wondered if it was like his all the time. However, he sensed shadows in her head – her grief, confusion, and a creeping sense of inadequacy.

Cynthia, however, was a quiet lake to him. Although he sensed her turmoil beneath the waves, she worked hard to keep herself as calm and quiet as possible when in his presence. She must have understood his psychic mind, having a psychic type Pokémon herself.

The woman did everything the other two could not: She made sure Mewtwo was fed and watered, bathed him, and made sure he rested. She changed the sheets and carried him on her back when she needed to move him. She smiled and reassured him when he soiled himself or coughed up soup on her. Logan checked on his vitals and made sure he was regaining his health. Anne made sure Mewtwo was happy and brought him water or crackers.

One morning, Mewtwo found he could sit upright and didn't hurt as much. In fact, he felt refreshed and eager. He stood on his wobbly feet and used his psychic powers to hover a few inches off the floor. The top of his head burned and he grimaced – using his powers still required too much energy. He dropped back onto the couch and sat, disappointed.

Logan stepped down the stairs carefully, his knees aching. Mewtwo watched as the old man made his way down. He wasn't wearing a shirt, but a pair of torn shorts over his underwear. His Raichu already descended the stairs while his Rhihorn stayed with him with watchful eyes. "Rodi," Logan growled out of the corner of his mouth, "I'm fine. Go on and make some coffee, alright? Stop worrying about me."

Mewtwo sensed Logan's annoyance and pain. The man hurt from head to toe with stiff muscles. He saw the scars, too, all over the man's body. His leg in particular looked messed up. "Let's make sure there's plenty breakfast for everyone. And I might have to take a trip to the store – feeding four people and twelve Pokémon is not what I intended for this month. Oh," he spotted Mewtwo awake and the psychic sensed his embarrassment, which he hid by crossing his arms, "Mewtwo. You're awake and sitting up. How's the powers?"

"It still takes a lot out of me to use levitation, but telepathy is fine," he answered with his mind.

The doctor nodded as he turned to the kitchen, mumbling, "Good, good."

Mewtwo turned to the coffee table where a stack of papers – drawings, newspapers, and mail – waited for someone to sort out and move away. He grabbed a newspaper and began to read. It detailed the Annual Pokémon Festival and the latest winners who would go on to the finals. How many days did this Festival last?

The rest were scant articles. There was one discussing the merits of adopting Honen Region's Pokémon Competitions – where they showed off Pokémon's abilities rather than fighting. Could this attract more trainers to the rest of the regions and add more to the tourism revenue? There were small police reports around town, some more comical than others, and some comic strips. Some Pokémon movie stars were having issues with relationships and some Professor had left to research the Legendary Dogs, Entei, Suicune, and Raiku.

Mewtwo flipped to other pages and found an article describing the latest Rocket terrorist attack. A shudder passed through him as he stared at the image of a burning building. According to the article, the group had attacked a science facility, stolen their data on various types of Pokémon, abducted one of the scientists, and set off a bomb in the building that killed the rest of the faculty inside.

He closed the paper and folded it up with trembling hands. Was it his fault they did that? Logan placed a glass of ice water on the coaster in front of him and asked, "Do you feel like listening to the news with me?"

Mewtwo nodded and Logan returned to the kitchen to fetch the radio.

Jessie stared at her hands, fiddling with the seam of her gloves. For the past several minutes, they had been waiting in the still lobby to see their boss. Her Meowth sat in the seat next to her, bathing himself diligently. James on her other side was biting his nails.

After another week of searching, they had come up empty. They had lost a whole day in their mental calendar and they suspected it was because they had chased down their target. How else could they not account for an entire day? There was no limit to its powers, so could memory erasure be an ability?

The door opened and the secretary announced, "Jessie; James. You may see the President."

The trio stood to their feet and strode to the door, James at the front. They passed the secretary, an old lady with a cold glare.

The expansive office felt like a room for show rather than for practical use. The pristine desk glistened in the early morning light filtering in through the window for a wall. The black tile reflected the orange light, like a fire blanketed the darkness. The shelves were as clean as the desk and the books looked untouched, a different kind of abuse for books, according Jessie's mother.

A tingle tickled her throat as Jessie wondered about her mother – an odd thing to think about while waiting for the President of Kanto to speak. They stood in single file in the middle of this office while he typed away on his computer. Jessie imagined what her mother might say, but couldn't really think of anything. She always felt her mother never believed she was good enough to do anything with her life. Jessie was always the rotten apple of her eye.

Pres. Giovanni leaned back in his office chair, smiling to himself. His Persian stood from its little bed of sunshine and rushed to leap into his lap. Giovanni stroked the evolution of Meowth with thought. He sighed, "I think I have finally squashed the rumors of mad experimentation on Pokémon. I should really thank Mewtwo for blowing up both my labs. It's a shame about the doctor, though. He wanted to bring back his poor daughter – that's why he dedicated his life to cloning research." He paused to examine the three. "Did you know that?"

"No sir," both agents replied.

Giovanni picked the Persian up and placed it on the floor. It flicked its tail in protest and dashed back to its sunning spot. "You two look like you've been through hell."

Indeed, James' stubble had long since become a small beard, while Jessie's hair was a mess of body oil and sweat. She kept her hair back in a bun to keep from thinking about a hot shower.

"I'm surprised at both of you. You failed to bring me back the most powerful Pokémon in the world. Why is this?"

James stepped forward to answer, "Sir, if I may answer. We believe we came close to capturing it, but the Pokémon erased our memories of that day and sent us to another part of Viridian Forest."

Giovanni opened the drawer next to him and pulled out a little peppermint candy to unwrap and suck on while he considered this. Jessie saw the sweat beading on James' cheek as they waited. There was no sound except for the crackle of wrapping paper, which the Persian lifted its head and sat at attention. Giovanni threw the ball of plastic to the haughty Pokémon, who caught it with its forepaws eagerly. This was obviously a game they played often.

"It erased your memories," Giovanni stated at last as he watched his Pokémon pop the new toy in the air. He bumped the mint on his teeth as he turned to them. "You three haven't disappointed me since I moved you to Hunter rank. You've brought me any Pokémon I desired. You even went above service by bringing Pokémon for your subordinates."

He folded his hands together and rested his mouth on his fist. "I don't see it fit to execute you two for your failure. No. I believe a brief suspension is in order. Take this time to… Reconsider things. Maybe search for more Pokémon to put on your belt."

"Wh – er, sir," said James, "you're not going to punish us? We failed."

"You two have been more reliable than any Rocket member I've ever seen. I can't imagine you wouldn't have failed me if I hadn't built such an over powered creature. No. I blame myself for your failure."

It felt like a teacher who gave them a failing grade, only to reveal it was a mistake. Well, if teachers executed you for failing, that is. Jessie's eyes misted and James seemed a little shaken up. "I don't understand," he said. "This is a trick."

Giovanni burst into laughter. "A trick?" he coughed. "Oh, god, no. You think I'm that sinister? Listen to me: I built the world's strongest Pokémon. I demanded the greatest Pokémon Hunters go chase down that Pokémon and I never took into account it was uncatchable."

"We had worn it down, sir. We would have gotten it," James argued.

"Silence," Giovanni boomed, his relaxed demeanor shifting to that of a wall. "Leave my office before I change my mind."

"How… How long are we suspended, sir?"

"A month." He waved them off with his thick hand.

The office door shut behind them and they felt like ghosts as they trekked to the elevator. "Suspended," Jessie stated as they descended 34 flights. James looked at her and their eyes met. They let out their held breaths and Jessie sighed with tears in her eyes, "I thought we'd be executed for sure." They chuckled breathlessly. "What now?" she asked.

James instantly knew and suggested, "Champagne. We get drunk out of our minds and go to bed and not do anything for the whole month."

"Sounds like a deal," sighed Jessie. She put her arm around his and leaned her head on his shoulder.

When they walked out of the building, her Pokégear went off. Jessie scolded the machine and whipped it out. She sighed, "Its Cassidy."

"Well," urged James.

"Hello? Jessie and James here," Jessie announced. Cassidy's stern face was not its usual expression. She was grinning from ear to ear. "Giovanni emailed me and said you two are suspended for a month. Why don't I take you two to a bar to celebrate? I know a good bartender who keeps his mouth shut."

"Uh," she hesitated to refuse. "James and I had plans already."

"No, cancel those," ordered the commander with a sly grin. "You're going to have fun tonight."

Jessie felt more uncomfortable than shocked. Her commander was usually so cold and almost mocking. "If you insist, ma'am."

"Oh, good! I'll meet you two at 9:00 tonight. Ta-ta!" The Pokégear blipped off.

"That… was… weird," said James slowly as he stepped out to hail a taxi. "I don't think we'll have the weekend we wanted."

"I don't know what to think," Jessie answered. "I want to go home and take a shower and take a nap before I have to deal with Cassidy." She shuddered as a taxi drove up and waited for them to climb in.

Showers, a clean shave, and a nap didn't cover the amount of needed rest for the both of them. They had to go to this … celebration.

Jessie gritted her teeth and glanced to James, who was putting on his best smile. It reminded her to put on hers as well as they stepped into the bar.

Jessie recognized many of the bar patrons as faces she glossed over at work, but in citizen gear. Even a few sergeants and majors were there, but all of them were Team Rocket.

The bartender was a tall, lanky man with a serious face that he had seen everything the Kanto underworld had to offer, and didn't care. He even had an eyepatch to make him look a bit like a pirate bartender who had seen it all. Upon approaching the bar, he regarded them with a cold glance and asked with a twitching corner of the mouth, "What can I get you two love birds?"

James opened his mouth to reply, but a voice caught their attention, "Oh, there you are!"

Cassidy – a lean woman with a slender, more attractive figure compared to Jessie's usual voluptuous one, and orange, curly hair that always looked shiny and bouncy, even in its ponytail. More irritating than the way she belittled her underlings was perhaps those ugly, gawd-awful earrings she wore with every outfit that wasn't a disguise. They were pink, triangular and reminded Jessie of those 80's glasses that were coming back in style.

Cassidy gave one of her rarely-seen smiles to the both of them, to which they returned the grins. Jessie found serving smiles was more exhausting than the ride to this place and was worried she might not survive.

"Come on, you two! You look wonderful for a pair who spent a whole week out on the road, looking for the uncatchable Pokémon! I'm paying for your drinks!" She threw her arms on their shoulders and practically dragged them to the corner booth.

Butch was already there, holding their seats for them. He had on a black shirt with white text that had a cartoon image of a brightly-colored Rapidash and a Ponita, with bold lettering underneath that read: BRONITA. It went well with his green hair and overall casual look. He was sporting some rubber bracelet with some non-profit labeled on it.

"What do you think?" he asked, indicating his shirt. "I'm a laid-back, cooperate-hater who organizes non-profits to take down "Da' Man." I got my new buddies eating out of my hands."

"Yes, Butch," said Cassidy dismissively as the girls sat across from the boys, "thank you for filling us in on your new undercover work."

"I like it," James remarked. "Stealing from the haters – its poetic. What's this Bronita thing?"

"Its some new fad, where guys watch a little girl's show. They're this whole community called Bronitas and the girls are called Rapisisters. I've convinced them to help out with our non-profit. They're all about helping others." He sipped on the cider he had ordered. "They're just more Mareep for the slaughter."

"Tepigs for the slaughter," Cassidy corrected.

A whole day. Lost. How? Could psychic types really rip out memories? How much did the world know about them? Jessie had tuned out the conversation while staring at a woman eating a hamburger, while her Mismagius was eating food specially crafted for its type. What was she doing here? Fulfilling some requirement to stay on Cassidy's good side? She had tried to reason her way into going the whole time she was prepping.

"Jessie? You okay?" asked James, while Cassidy and Butch were busy with their drinks. Jessie indicated with her eyes she didn't want to be there (glancing at the other two and giving an exasperated stare). At the same time he understood, the waitress brought them their drinks. He stood and said, "Hold on, I need to speak with my wife. I'm not sure we did something before we left the house."

They excused themselves while Butch and Cassidy gave them teasing glances.

At the short, quiet hallway to the bathrooms, they stopped when they reached the end to whisper. Thankfully, someone turned on a jukebox in the corner.

"We should drink a round and then go home," Jessie insisted.

"Uh, no. They intend on getting drunk," James pointed out. "Didn't you smell the alcohol on their breath? They've been working on drinks before we got here. Didn't you notice how Cassidy almost fell on herself getting to us? We can't let them drive home hammered."

"James," she scolded. Then she considered her words. "I suppose you're right. There's no sense in our superiors getting a DUI or in a wreck." The idea they were being used so their superiors could get drunk crossed her mind.

She thought for a moment. "We should steal their keys so they have to call a taxi. Then go home. Drink champagne, have hot sex, and never get out of bed for the rest of the month."

The prospect (especially when she mentioned sex) lit his eyes up and he nodded. "I'll see what I can do," he finalized.

"You two done making out?" Cassidy shouted as she hung on to the threshold leading down the hall. Jessie blushed a little and forced a smile.

"Oh, Cassidy, you!" Jessie attempted to tease as she approached the swaying woman. "You got us! Why don't we go back to the table and get another round?"

It was embarrassing to watch as Butch and Cassidy drank themselves stupid. During the Team Rocket Training Academy, Jessie always idolized the orange-haired woman, even if her earrings were dumb. She saw her as strong, independent, and unwavering. When Jessie became a Pokémon Hunter, Cassidy still seemed strong, but more annoying than garnering respect from her underlings. As if her underlings were children she had to babysit on prom night.

Now, Jessie had to babysit her captain and she felt that's the only reason they were called to have the party. Instead of enjoying herself, she wrinkled her nose as she held Cassidy's hair so the captain could vomit into the toilet.

The cold water felt good on Jessie's hands. Hopefully, James got the keys by now and they could find an excuse to slip away. At least they left Meowth behind, so that was a possible way out – "My Meowth is tears up the furniture if we're gone too long." There. She had an excuse. Now to find a moment to slip it in…

"You know," coughed Cassidy as she slapped water on her face. She leaned half her lithe body against the porcelain, as if she could climb into the bowl of the sink. "I've always been … jealous of you."

Jessie's thoughts popped like hazy bubbles and she looked at her captain. "What?"

"Yeah," slurred Cassidy, making vague motions to the air, as if to stir her thoughts. "You know. You and James. You two have been so … dedicated. I don't have none of that."

"What about Butch? I always ~"

"Fah! Butch? Oh, gawd, is that what you thought? Just office gossip, girl. Butch is just my partner." She gagged a little over the drain. "Butch don't got eyes for… ugh … me. Oh, guh, I drank too much."

"Who does he have eyes for?" Jessie asked, deciding to hold off on excuses a bit. She might never get this opportunity outside the bathroom.

"I'm… not sure. He doesn't talk to me about that. We keep it kosher around the workplace." She paused, staring at her hands as if they had morphed into Grimers. "No man wants me. I'm too much… all the wrong stuff. Too strong. Too independent. Too snippy. I guess… Er, I'm too drunk to think about this stuff."

"Is that why you act like that to those under you?"

"I guess. I dunno, Jessie."

There was a pause while Cassidy laid her head down in the bowl of the sink. "Of all the people we could have sent to get that experiment, we really thought you two could have done it," she said, her voice muffled from her mouth hovering so close to the sink wall. "You came so close."

"I don't know how it could have slipped away," Jessie said, chewing her bottom lip. "It has to be this… gap in our memory. One second, we're walking along the lake in our bathing suits so we don't raise suspicions. Then the next, we're driving on the dirt road and our Pokégear says half the day is gone. The expir~"

Cassidy slipped down onto the floor, losing balance (somehow) and curling there. "Go on," she reassured Jessie. "I'm listening."

Jessie frowned and knelt next to her. "Why don't we get you guys home? You're hammered."

"No… No… no," whispered Cassidy and put a hand on Jessie's face. "You're supposed to have a good time. Not … What was I saying?"

"Come on," Jessie helped the woman up and practically had to drag her out the door.

Mewtwo stayed with us while we waited for Team Rocket's people to stop hunting for him. We stayed at Uncle Logan's for three weeks until Dad's old editor told us we could return. Not wanting to overstay our welcome, we left for home. Uncle Logan and Mom cried when we left, but it was good.

Upon our return home, Mom put Mewtwo to work, since he would be staying with us. He was to work on the lawn, fix things Togakiss couldn't do because of her bird feet, and where Ursaring couldn't reach. Mom's favorite motto was, "If you don't work, you don't eat."

Mom also started working at a magazine as an editor, which had been her job before I was born. So, until he left, Mewtwo watched me and Togakiss, while Ursaring kept the house (aside from my chores). By the end of the month, I had my finals done and things were fair.

One day, while Mom was gone at work, I read aloud to Ursaring while she did her dishes. I paused after a chapter and Ursaring glanced to me with a question in her eyes.

"Ursaring, can Mewtwo and I go outside to the woods? I want to explore," I said. Ursaring held up a claw, soapy water dripping from her thick fur. "One more chapter?" I clarified and she nodded. I grinned and opened it to continue reading.

Mewtwo used his psychic ability to lift the small tree and place it into the hole. Togakiss nodded her approval as she pulled up weeds. He knelt to scoop the dirt into the hole with his own hands. He rubbed the soil between his pads and pondered his work. The garden had gotten neglected before he came to the house. Cynthia bought an ornamental tree to liven it up and asked him to clean it. Togakiss was happy to help him.

His mind pondered the emotions going on in his mind. How could something so common seem so … rich? Alive? He inhaled the scent, savoring the minute details of the scent – deep, rustic, but seemed to fill his olfactory with some kind of primal comfort. A part of him wanted to plunge his whole arms into the earth and rub the smell all over him – his wild Pokemon side (?). Another part, maybe a civilized part (?), was disgusted at the idea.

He faced the oncoming breeze and stood to take it in.

A phrase haunted his mind since he joined the Noons: _Life is wonderful._

_Why? Where have I heard this? _

He glanced to Togekiss, who was too busy digging up some deep-rooted weeds. He regarded the colors of the forest blanketing the back of the house. There were so many shades of green and brown – he wished he could paint. Maybe he could, given his psychic powers…

He tossed the idea aside when he sensed Anne approaching him. She was still a ray of sunshine to his gloom. She grinned as she approached, "Mewtwo! Wanna go into the woods with me?"

Togakiss made a frown at her and swooped up to hover next to the girl with a confused hoot. Mewtwo translated, "She wants to know why you haven't asked her to go with you."

Anne smiled and said, "Well, I know you'll go anywhere with me, sis. Oh, and Ursaring says its okay to go. I finished folding my laundry and reading to her."

Mewtwo blinked. Sis? That was new from Anne. She had said she felt like the Togekiss was a sister, but not actually called her 'Sis' before. "I see. Hmm, I suppose we could go, right, Togekiss? We need a break, after all," he pointed out with playful seriousness.

"Alright!" squeaked Anne and she pumped both fists in the air and ran to the woods at full speed. Both Pokémon had little effort in keeping up with the girl.

There in the woods, the world changed, like walking into a building or enclosed space. But the woods were still open and the sky hung above. Mewtwo paused to gape at the world. Trees and underbrush fought for space, while a small path from the edge of the woods snaked its way between the greenery. Anne followed with careful steps, pushing aside bushes and low-hanging branches. Mewtwo fell in line behind her while Togakkis hung on the girl's shoulder.

They eventually came to a wide creek. "We can't cross this," Anne informed with a serious tone. "There's wild Pokémon out there and we have to be careful." She leapt to resume her trek along the bank. "Come on!" She waved a hand for Mewtwo to follow her.

It wasn't a long journey. They followed the bank for a few minutes before breaking off to a small path, down an incline, and up a hill. Foresters had come through and cut down plenty of the birch trees here to make a straight shot from interstate to interstate. Their house was just off one of the interstates, connected by a county road. It made it easier for Mewtwo to stay out of the house or help around the garden.

He wasn't sure why he hadn't tried going into the woods before.

Eventually, they came to a clearing. At the center an enormous oak, its trunk as huge as five or six Annes. At the crook of its branches stood a treehouse, well cared for and lovingly decorated. It was stained instead of painted, so it almost seemed to blend into the dark bark of the tree, if the wood of the treehouse hadn't been stained such a rich crimson. A rope ladder led up to the inside off the little treehouse.

Anne climbed up and Togakiss cooed as she soared up to the top to roost. Mewtwo levitated himself to the balcony where Anne waited. She beamed at him, her emotions bubbling. "Come on in," she beaconed and opened the little door.

He had to kneel to enter the house and felt an odd pang of emotions. The tiny house felt so safe and full of warm love that it made his eyes misty. There was a short bookshelf along the bottom of the far wall, which doubled as a reading nook in the corner. Action figures sat on top with various rocks with odd striations and patterns. A set of cushions were stacked next to a cooler, which Anne was dragging to the door with effort.

Mewtwo stopped staring and helped her dump the tub of water off the balcony. "I drank all the soda," she informed as they let the last of the water drip out. "Sorry I can't give you something to drink." Inside, he sat on one of the cushions she provided and pulled out a set of books for him.

Aside from the shelf and cooler, there was a small crate with a solid board nailed to the top as a makeshift desk. It was sitting on its side so she could hook her knees under it. Mewtwo spied a few sketches of Togakiss and some Pokémon he didn't recognize. Next to the desk was a wooden trunk, which was large and big enough for Anne to curl up inside and close the lid.

As Anne sat in her little reading nook, Mewtwo skimmed the pages of some of the books she gave him. There were pictures in some, but most of them had none. He could almost see the memories stored in each page, feel the emotions left behind in them. Anne had loved these books with all her heart as she read them. Sometimes, she cried. Other times, she forgot the world existed. Always, the books felt like some kind of looking glass – a way to peer into another place, another time, and into the mind of someone else. They felt like family.

Family. Mewtwo closed the book and looked over to Anne, who was lost in thought, curled up so her back was against the wall and her body along the shelf-nook. The cushion she sat on looked worn and flat from years of use.

Not long after he had recovered, Anne's mother spoke to him on a night neither one could sleep. Cynthia told him he needed to go out and see the world. Her daughter didn't want to get her license yet and Cynthia wasn't about to push her into it.

"So much has changed, all at once, for the both of us," Cynthia explained. "I'm starting work tomorrow and Anne has her finals next week. No way am I going to push her into something she doesn't want to do." She had paused to let that sink in. "As for you… I believe you should go out, leave this house, and see the world for yourself. You're obviously a powerful Pokémon. You don't deserve … You shouldn't be tethered to a trainer. For one trainer to have that much power on their belt without ever earning it … its dishonorable."

"What if I stayed with you?" Mewtwo had asked. "I could get my bearings first. There's still so much I don't understand. So much I can't learn on my own. All I know is fighting and honing my skills. I know nothing of humans nor Pokémon. And …" He tried to think of another reason. "You and Anne are so kind, so caring. I want to know kindness."

Cynthia had given him a tired smile, as if her emotions were sore and she had to coax them forth. It was getting harder for him to read her since they arrived to the Noon's residence.

But he could read Anne fine. She was a bundle of thoughts, wrapped in a blanket of wonder, as she stared into space. Her eyes were glazed over and he sensed there were all sorts of emotions going on. He tried to catch a few with his mind, but they slipped away like Butterfree. She stood with excitement on her face and sparkling from her.

"Wanna draw with me?" she asked as she rushed to the tiny desk. Mewtwo blinked and answered, "Alright."

She unzipped the pencil holder she produced from the trunk and held out a half-length pencil and an eraser to him. He used his psychic ability to lift the items with the paper she offered. He had seen her draw enough while he was bedridden to know what to do.

Together they drew. Anne worked furiously at her desk while he crouched over his drawing on the floor. Her imagination was like a symphony to Mewtwo, exciting, yet soothing and captivated his own mind.

How could he be so sensitive to her?

When they finished, Anne had drawn (a notably good drawing, Mewtwo thought, for a child) a picture of her Uncle Logan with his Raichu and Rhyhorn, with the cabin behind them and the lake to the right. The sun hung above with a smiley face there.

Mewtwo's art was an abstract piece, with Pokémon flocking around a tree. They were odd shapes and blocks with dots and scribbles, while the tree was crudely drawn. It was harder to draw what was on his mind than it looked.

But Anne insisted on hanging it up with the rest of her art on the wall above the trunk and desk. In fact, she hung his artwork next to the desk, so she could look at it when she was contemplating her next piece. "I love it," she said with a big smile.

Warmth blanketed his chest and he felt his eyes mist over. "But its so ugly," he protested, a knot in his throat.

He wanted to draw Giovanni and remember all those times the man lied to him – Pokémon were weapons, the man told him, that Pokémon and humans didn't live in harmony together. But here were three humans who relied on Pokémon as friends, as servants – not slaves. Cynthia made it clear: Servants were more than slaves. Servants helped and were as important to masters as family. They were extended family.

That night, Anne related the forest adventure to Cynthia, her imagination making Mewtwo relive the walk. He felt funny as he remembered crying behind Anne's back on their trek home. She hadn't noticed, thankfully.

Over the dishes, Mewtwo confided in Cynthia, "I think I understand what you told me. About servants and family."

She handed him a dish to dry. "Really? How so?"

"Family … you accept them…" It was harder to articulate his feelings than he thought. "Er… You accept them, regardless. Of how bad their work is."

Cynthia smiled and answered, "You're getting it, at least. After I heard all the crap Giovanni drilled into you, I was worried you won't be open."

"Something about your daughter is … Its not hard for me to read her."

"My daughter's accepting of others. Maybe that's it?"

"No, I can't read you that well anymore, but I can read Anne just fine."

Cynthia paused, a confused, serious expression on her face. They said little more the rest of the evening.


	6. Chapter 6

It was over the haze of breakfast when I realized I was ready for my Pokémon journey.

Mom and I had discussed getting school supplies for my fifth year of school, roughly over three years after my father's death. Mom's editing job was providing steady income, while Mewtwo continued to live with us.

It felt like a full house again with him around. He did things I remembered my father doing – like helping with homework or calming me down when I had a nightmare. We even built little houses for bird and other forest Pokémon in the woods behind the house.

I was finally … happier. I still felt raw inside, but the grief had finally passed.

As we listened to the radio, an announcement came on to tell us that the local Pokémon Professor was issuing Pokémon Licenses to new trainers.

I looked up from my bowl of cereal and said, "Mom, why don't I … go ahead and start my Pokémon journey?"

Mom blinked and she lit up. "Really?" she asked. I nodded and she answered, "I'll call my coworkers to let them know I'm going to stay in to help you get to registration."

"Okay," I answered with a smile.

While Mom placed the call, Mewtwo asked with his thoughts, "What Pokémon are you going to start off with?"

"I don't know," I answered in a matter of fact voice. "And Mom will likely want me to take a Pokémon of hers with me to make sure I'll be okay."

I sensed an odd flurry of emotions from Mewtwo, but I couldn't finger what they were.

Mom returned and sighed, "I get the day off!" She sat down to finish her coffee. After having started my period, Mom let me have coffee as well. But I had already finished mine.

"Why don't you take Togakiss with you?" Mom asked. "You two already have a great bond and she'll help you in a tight spot."

"No," I answered. "I'm going to take Mewtwo."

Mom's expression turned hard. "You can't take Mewtwo."

"Why not?" I asked.

"He's too powerful for one trainer to have. It wouldn't be right."

"But Togakiss is level 72! Isn't that too powerful already?" I pleaded. "And besides, she's already been through all the regions with you. It wouldn't be right to not be able to experience everything with your Pokémon like you should."

"To be fair," said Mewtwo, "neither one of us has seen the world. And, on top of that, she wouldn't be able to use me. If she calls me out into battle, it would jeopardize my safety."

Mom considered this, her stubborn face getting more annoyed. Ursaring gave me a sideways glance, as if to reassure me the argument was in my favor. Togakiss hopped down from her metal perch in the corner to nuzzle my cheek with the size of her head. Part of me couldn't believe I chose Mewtwo over my big sister – Pokémon.

"Alright," Mom announced. "You can take Mewtwo." She stood up from her chair. "I have something for you, then."

She left into her room down the hall from the kitchen. I finished my cereal as I waited. Mewtwo blinked and added, "I just realized: I'm going to have to stay in a Pokéball while we're on our journey."

"Don't worry," I answered. "You can see through the top, right Ursaring?"

The bear Pokémon nodded her affirmation.

Mom returned with a wooden box. She traded my cereal bowl for the box and placed it in front of me. "Your father and I got this when you turned five. We wanted your first Pokémon to have a special place to stay – next to your heart." She flipped open the clasp and opened the lid.

I gasped at the Pokeball inside. It had been customized with a gold engraving of a Beautifly with an A on one wing and N on the other. I looked at Mom, who already had tears flowing down her face. At the top was a ring for attaching the ball to a chain.

She sniffled and said, "Here, let's put it on." She lifted the chain and it slipped over my head with ease.

I stared down at it and turned to show the rest of the room. Ursaring and Togakiss clapped (although Togakiss had to stomp her feet on the table to make some semblance to clapping).

"Are you sure about this?" Mom asked. "Togakiss is more than willing to go with you."

I glanced between the two. Did it really matter which one I picked? Togakiss floated up to me and cooed soothingly.

Tears flung themselves to my eyes and I wiped them away. Maybe I could still change my mind – go back to normal like I had never said anything? I cast Mom a glance and she said, "Its alright. Whatever you choose, its fine. Remember, you're safe here."

I nodded and took Mewtwo's hand with both of mine. "Mewtwo," I began. "I know we haven't known each other all that long. Three years – its not really that long. But I want to see the world with you and spend even more time with you."

"Thank you, sweetheart," he replied and picked up the Pokéball on the chain. He hesitated, holding his breath. Talons gripped his heart and I felt his conflict of going into the ball. There was some flickering of voices in the back of my mind and darkness lurked on my shoulders. I blinked the feelings away and put a hand on his arm. "If you can't~"

He pressed the button and a red light engulfed him.

We climbed into the car and drove for about an hour to Pallet Town, where trainers from all over the region went to register throughout the week. It was Monday, so were lucky to have a thin crowd waiting for us.

Mom pulled up to the science facility doubling as the License office. Well, actually, she had to stop a block away, where the line of young trainers waited to enter the facility. I bit my bottom lip and we exchanged glances.

"Okay," Mom began with a shaky sigh. "I'm going to swing over to the Pokémon Training Gear Supply we passed on the way up here and come back when I get some things for you. Also, after you get your license, we need to go to the bank and start up your own account. One that I'll have access to put money into if you need it."

"Mom, shouldn't I … just have my own account and you not have to worry?" I asked. "I mean, isn't that kind of the whole point?"

Mom frowned and looked at the car wheel, as if it might tell her what to say. "You're right," she corrected.

Why didn't that make me feel any better? I had test anxiety twisting up my insides, like I had swallowed two dozen. sour Jotiks. I swallowed and sighed heavily to collect myself.

"I'll see you, then," I said as I unbuckled. "I love you, Mom."

"Love you, too," she answered and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

The car drove away once I was on the sidewalk. The kids waiting looked up from their Pokegears and looked me up and down. I realized with a sinking feeling at how much taller I was compared to them.

I stepped in line behind a girl busy with one of those rubber friendship chains you put on a keychain. Except it looked more like a bracelet than a short chain. She was intent on her work, her glasses long since slipped down her nose. She had sets of the bracelets on her wrists – each a different combination of the colors. I also noticed her brightly-colored Pokégear on her belt and the keychains on her backpack.

I didn't have a backpack or Pokégear yet. Mom must have gone to pick all those up for me. A few other kids were with a parent.

The girl in front of me looked up and noticed me. She gave me a sneer when she looked me up and down. I wasn't sure why – I dressed in a black skirt, white shirt with a black collar that formed a stripe down the front and black, pin-sized dots all over it. I also had on a new pair boots Mom had gotten earlier that summer.

She gave me another sneer and pointed out, "What are you signing up for?"

I made a confused look and answered slowly, "My Pokémon license."

She scoffed, "Uh, you're too old for a license. You should be an intern." She turned her attention to the chain. "Dad hires interns all the time, because they're too stupid to do real jobs right."

I frowned and said, "I'm thirteen, I'm not old enough for an internship."

"You got boobs. You can get any job if you have boobs."

I blinked, dazed by the words coming from her. I noticed her flat chest. I wasn't anywhere near done developing, but it was obviously just enough to be noticeable. I crossed my arms over my chest and pointed out, "That sounded really … stupid."

She thought I was insulting her and retorted, "Oh, like you look?"

When I didn't say anything at first, Mewtwo urged in my mind, "You should say something."

"Where is this coming from?" I ordered the girl.

The girl rolled her eyes, as well as her neck to continue her work without a crick. She said nothing else and I stayed quiet. A few of the kids who filed in behind me whispered to each other. I continued to watch the girl braid and braid her rubber strings.

It felt like forever before the line started to move up.

"I'm Anne Noon," I introduced, deciding to start over.

The girl dropped her arms down, not letting go of her work, and stared at me with a half-eye open glare. I squirmed a little but said, "Look, I don't know why you have to treat me like I'm subhuman, but I want to at least make the wait bearable. By talking, maybe it won't be so bad."

"My Dad says not to talk to dumb, poor people."

Confusion whipped up my mind like chaff. I decided to give it a rest.

I closed my eyes. The world vanished and I called out with my mind, "Mewtwo?"

"Right here," his voice came from behind me. I turned around and hugged his neck. "Its so boring out there."

He chuckled, his voice like honey and velvet. "Oh, Anne. You have to keep up with the line, you know that, right?" he pointed out.

"I can move with the line and hang out with you, too," I reassured him. "How do you think I got through battle mechanics?"

He chuckled and asked, "So, where to today?"

"I don't know. There's this story I've been writing," I informed and paused to hold up a hand. A broadsword with a bejeweled hilt formed in my palm, glimmering and shining like it was made of stars instead of metal. The darkness around us faded into bright day. My clothes disappeared and in their place melted a set of armor.

Mewtwo levitated around me, taking in the sights. "Huh, that fantasy story. Right," he answered. "So, want to reenact a few scenes?"

I swished the sword and nodded. Mewtwo held out his arms and turned himself into a huge Houndoom that loomed over me like a protective gargoyle. I grinned to him and began to lay out the scene: "So, um, we have to fight an incoming army and protect the King of Tara. I can't figure out what's going to happen leading up to that, though."

The Mewtwo-Houndoom frowned and scanned the horizon to think. "What about the princess? You told me she was struggling with her love for her guard? You could write a scene with her and her struggling to come to terms with her feelings or the fact she has to reject her feelings."

"Anne?" Mom's voice cut in, shattering the illusion.

I blinked, knocking away the blurry vision and rubbed my eyes. "Huh? Mom?"

"Hey, Anne," Mom greeted as she held up a few plastic bags full of items. "Zoned out in the boring line?" I glanced around, the line still waiting. We seemed to have moved from a block away to ¾ a block away. Mom put the bags down and we knelt to go through them.

Mom pulled out a journey backpack that had a free sleeping bag, three sets of clothes, three boxes of granola bars, a large traveling water bottle, a Pokéball belt (with a magnetic strip for the Pokeballs to attach to), a first aid kit, three Pokeballs, and, finally, a Pokégear.

"Sorry I couldn't get you more Pokéballs," Mom said, "but you'll have to earn your money for more of them. Also, I got you a Trainer Discount for motels and hotels." She held up a discount card. "I can't believe you have to get them separate now."

"What? Hotels? Motels?" I asked as I took the card. It had a female and male trainer on it with a night cap on the boy and the girl holding some stuffed Pokémon doll. The card invited me to stay at any of the listed motels and get a 10% discount.

"Well, hon, you can't just stay outside," Mom explained. "When you get to a town, you might not make it on your first gym battle. In order to stay in the city, you'll want to get a motel or hotel to stay in until you beat the gym leader."

"That …" I paused. "That's dumb!"

"Do you want to sleep outside? Where's it's not safe? And there's a law against camping in parks or on the street."

I blinked. I hadn't considered any of this. Why did it look so easy in the shows?

Mom clipped the bright yellow Pokégear on my belt loop and handed me the Pokéballs to store in my backpack. "When you go to stores, swipe your Pokégear and it will act as your bank card."

"You have the account set up already?"

Mom shook her head as she stood up. "Wow, this line is taking forever."

The girl with the rubber braids was working on knotting the two ends together. The line was at a crawl. The boy behind us said, "They're letting people in five at a time."

"I see," Mom said slowly.

I whipped out my Pokégear to play with it. The standby screen had the date and time and a place for any notifications. I hooked up to the cellular network to add my email. Then I checked out the radio. The Pokégear came with a pair of earbuds to stick into my ears. I plugged them in and listened, tuning with the dial on the side. I found a wealth of stations. There was also a place on my Pokégear to plug it into a computer to transfer music.

"This is amazing," I told Mom. "Its better than a phone!"

Mom chuckled. "They were cutting edge in my day – oh dear. Listen to me! Well, it also has phone capabilities, too. I plugged in my number and your uncle's number when I got it."

I hugged Mom tightly. "Thank you," I whispered.

Mom squeezed me in return and whispered into my ear, "I'm so proud. You'll do great."

The radio dulled the pain of waiting. There was a station where a scientist and a celebrity were discussing the different routes, the Pokémon on them, and had various guests talking. Today was registration day for trainers, so the scientist was out for the day. Instead, a gym leader was in his place, all the way from Unova region.

When we came up (after another hour of waiting), the volunteer-lady with striking red hair counted five trainers and asked the parents to wait in the lobby. I gave Mom a glance before we went inside.

The facility was huge, with giant posters along the walls featuring gym leaders you would face on your journey. The volunteers within the facility gave my mother forms to fill out before bringing me to the photo opt.

The corner of the huge room was reserved for the photography. We had to stand straight in a relaxed pose with a relaxed smile for the front and then the back. It was a full-body photo, too. I couldn't wait to see what it would look like. I remembered Mom's card with her front and back pictures side by side.

"You'll get them tomorrow," said the rubber bracelet girl in front of me when I wondered to myself out loud. "I guess you don't have any siblings or you'd know that."

I ignored her and waited. At least it was only five of us in the line. I heard the volunteers welcoming in another set of five as I stepped up in front of the white screen.

Once photos were done, Mom brought me papers to sign on a clipboard. I frowned to myself as I signed my name over and over.

Again, it hit me like a sledgehammer: I was really doing this. I was actually going on my journey. Why hadn't I done this sooner? When I handed her the clipboard, I was reminded of all those sleepless nights from nightmares and finding her crying herself to sleep. Even with the editor job, money was tight because of funeral bills. And the crippling grief…

I and the four new trainers were then brought to what looked like a classroom with a large white screen pulled down for a projector. I blinked as the blue-haired volunteer motioned us to sit, saying with a theatrical voice, "Hello, soon-to-be trainers! I'm happy to welcome you to your tutorial on the journey of the trainer."

He clicked a button on the remote, which made the overhead projector hiss to life. The man bent over a laptop in the middle of the room and clicked play.

A cartoon of a young man blinked onto the computer and an announcer said, "Welcome to the world of Pokémon! Its an exciting world where man and monster work together to bring about a bright future! Come on! Let's follow young Joey here and see how its done…"

It was reminiscent of those embarrassingly cheezy videos about puberty. We "followed" Joey through his first few days as a trainer, in which he went through a similar process as us, but didn't have to watch a video. He got his starter from the choices of fire, water, grass, and normal. Then he went on his way. He caught a wild Pokémon and went to a town…

I went to the field again with Mewtwo and we had a picnic instead of a fantasy battle. "I like this better," I commented as I knocked my feet together above me. I laid on my stomach and had my legs curled over me. Mewtwo swished his tail, not needing to answer. I sensed he was satisfied.

But something troubled him. I wasn't sure about it at first, but something felt … off when we entered the facility. At first, I thought I was getting test anxiety again, but now I felt uncomfortable. Then it wasn't me – the feeling trickled from him like an irritating liquid that hardened around me.

"What's wrong?" I asked as I put the imaginary cake down.

"Science facilities," he said slowly. He wrapped his arms around his knees and put his mouth on his arms. "I don't like them."

I remembered his story about being grown in a lab and tested on. He didn't tell me much else.

"I'm sorry," I said and sat upright on my knees.

He gave me a small smile before the world disappeared. I blinked away the unfocused drowsiness and found everyone was standing, so I did the same. The blue-haired volunteer motioned us to exit.

A man in a lab coat with a t-shirt beneath waited for us outside. He had dark circles under his eyes and bright green hair. His t-shirt read "Keep Calm and Train On" across the front. The girl with the rubber bracelets sneered, "What are you supposed to be?"

The man gave her a glare that rivaled a ghost Pokémon's stare. The girl shut her mouth but held her head high. I rolled my eyes. The man with green hair led us down the hall to a set of double doors.

Inside was something like an atrium: It was the size of a cafeteria with balconies on either side of the walls. Scientists were carting Pokémon back and forth or some were watching from above. I spotted a few police patrolling on the balconies above as well.

In the center of the atrium was a series of tables. One set had Pokéballs lined up with little signs in front of each. Next to the Pokéballs were a set of Pokédexes – all various rainbows of colors, some with black or white accent. At the end of all of that was five laptops for registering your Pokedex.

Fire, Water, Grass, or Normal type. We had to pick one. The Rubber Bracelet girl in front of me grabbed up a water type (A Piplup as I saw from the little card in front of it) and practically lunged for a light blue Pokédex.

I took my time, scanning each card. There were six of each type, each from a different region. I had good reason to pick any one of them. Then I came to the Normal types.

Why bother putting normal types on the line up? I picked up the Eeevee Pokéball and thought about what I might teach it and how it might work out. It could evolve into any types on the table and beyond.

I decided on an Eevee and nodded to the scientist at the computer. The man in the glasses gave me a polite nod and motioned me to continue to the Pokédexes. I automatically grabbed a yellow one to match my Pokégear.

I plugged in the Pokégear and the Pokédex into the computer. A screen popped up, letting me know it was activating the Pokédex and registering it with the Kanto Research facilities. Then it linked the Pokégear and the Pokedex together so they could find each other if the other was lost.

Then I had to register my new Eevee. I plugged the ball into the computer via a jack in the back of the ball, beneath the hinge. It was where it charged the ball and recovered Pokémon at the centers. The computer asked if I wanted to nickname the Pokémon inside.

My fingers hovered over the keyboard as I thought of a name, staring at the image of the Eevee. It was female. I wanted to name her something nice. I glanced at the scientist and asked, "Could I change her name at any time?"

He nodded. "There's usually a name rater in one of the cities… I can't remember which. But he'll change the name for you."

"Thanks." How could he not know?

He nodded happily and pushed up his glasses. If he was bored, he hid it well.

"Alex," I typed in and hit enter. The Pokéball dinged, the same sound as a "caught" notification and I unhooked it from the jack. The scientist smiled to me and motioned to the door marked EXIT. I gratefully sped my way to the exit and pocketed the Pokédex in the side pocket of my backpack.

Back in the front room, I found Mom waiting with other parents near the door. I raced up to her and hugged her neck with a squeak. "Its an Eevee!" I said in a high-pitched voice. "I named her Alex!"

"Great! Aw, let me see!" she held out her hands for the ball. I placed it in her hand. She peeked at the Pokémon suspended in a state of comfort and leasure inside. "Look, Anne," Mom pointed to the red half of the ball. I peeked and saw the Eevee barking and jumping up and down. She wagged her tail eagerly.

I giggled and we walked outside, arm in arm. We had to go to the bank first and then I'd receive my license in the mail the next day.

The sound of a Pokémon being drawn out popped the air near me. I was right outside the car, which was a few blocks away from the facility. I looked over and saw the girl with a tall man standing next to her. She pointed at me and said, "I challenge you to a battle!"

I blinked and glanced at Mom for help. She nodded to me and shrugged – this was my call.

I said to the girl, "I just received my Pokémon, so I don't really want to~"

"You insult my honor?" the girl snapped, her hands balling into fists. I grimaced and answered, "N-No, I just don't ~"

Her voice was firm and angry when it cut me off. "You pester me for half the day and then you insult my honor? How dare you, you stupid girl!"

I felt trapped –I didn't want to dishonor anyone, but I didn't know if my Pokémon would listen to me. Besides, this wasn't how I wanted to meet my Pokémon face to face.

I inhaled deeply and answered, "Fine. I'll fight you. Although I'm not entirely sure why."

The girl grinned and said, "Good. Daddy has a limo we can all go in together. Including your mother." She walked ahead while her father motioned us to follow. Mom and I exchanged glances, but it didn't seem they were going to change their minds on the limo. Mom opened the car for Ursaring to exit and we followed my first challenger to her family limo.

This is posted on Watt Pad under the same title and the chapters are chopped up into more even parts. This is actually chapter 8. Thanks for reading and do criticize.


	7. Chapter 7

The girl's name was Tuesday Lang.  
Tuesday's father, Mr. Lang, had thick black hair, large glasses, and a face resembling a wall, with eyes cut to serious most of the time. He had little to say and had a military air to him.  
The girl herself was redheaded, wore bright clothes, and still had on her bracelets.  
The limo had seats that faced one another, like something out of a movie. Mom, Ursaring, and I had to sit across from the father and daughter. With Ursaring between us, it was like a poorly constructed sandwich, with Mom and I being the vegetables and Ursaring was the large meat patty.  
Tuesday leaned back in the seat, grinning like she had us caught us in some trap.  
"Why are you challenging me so soon?" I asked. "I've barely had my Pokémon and – heck – neither one of us has our license!"  
"I know that, stupid," she snapped. "But we're going to fight at my father's estate. Its private and Daddy has taught me everything I know."  
She chuckled, "You know I'm from a long line of Champions?"  
"I didn't," I replied. I blew some of Ursaring's fur out of my mouth. "How is your family rich, then?"  
She tossed her red locks, "Oh, we just designed the Pokégear and it set us for life."  
Mom said with slight surprise, "Ah, so you're those Langs."  
Tuesday nodded, "Yes, we are."  
Mewtwo thought to me, "This doesn't make sense. Why is your mother letting you battle if you don't have your license? Isn't it … dishonorable, as she would say?"  
I glanced at Ursaring, as if I could see Mom through her, and replied in my head, "I guess … I'm making my own decisions now."  
Why didn't it make me feel good?  
This was a mistake, I thought to myself. I shouldn't have done this. I never should have spoken to this girl and never should have even gone to get my license. I felt the Pokéball on the necklace, the chain heavy on my neck. I shouldn't have caged up Mewtwo.  
My mind weighed heavy on me as I turned my gaze to the window next to me. Through the tinted glass, I watched trees pass by. We were far from Pallet town.  
Then a field appeared and a mansion came into view. It was flanked by enormous wings added on over the centuries. Fields surrounded it with various Pokémon – all fully evolved and high level. They glanced up from play to watch us turn onto the long, paved driveway.  
Pruned trees lined along the road, so they all looked like uniform bulbs on a Bulbasaur's back.  
I spotted the field we were to battle on as we approached the towering mansion. The field was clear of grass and had chalk drawn on the dirt to show the division between the players. A mesh wire fence surrounded it, tall enough to protect the potential audience.  
When the chauffeur opened the door to let us out, I tumbled out. Ursaring caught me with an arm around my waist and placed me on the ground, like setting a board up. I smiled to the chauffeur, who acted like this was normal.  
Once we were all out, a butler approached and said, "The battle ground will be ready in a moment. Take this time to reflect on your tactics." He bowed to us and motioned us to follow. The five of us followed along.  
I glanced at Mom and whispered, "Why didn't you put Ursaring in her ball?"  
"I didn't think of it. Besides, I love my cuddly teddy." She put an arm around Ursaring's arm and squeezed. Ursaring looked pleased through her serious demeanor.  
I spotted Tuesday on her Pokedex, checking out her new Piplup. I dug in the side pocket for mine and grabbed the new Pokéball off my belt magnet. Hovering the Pokedex over the ball, the 'Dex recognized the Pokémon.  
Eevee "Alex" had a balanced stat set, with a lean towards special defense. It was level 5. I guessed the Piplup of Tuesday's was level five as well.  
I tried to ping my Pokedex for a read on Piplup, but it only had a picture. I frowned, pondering what good a Pokedex did me if I couldn't read an enemy's stats.  
We split to opposite sides of the battle field. Mom took my arm to pull me closer to her. Once on our side, she knelt to my level.  
"Anne," she began, "remember what you learned in school and what I taught you. Battles are meant to be fought with honor. That girl doesn't care about honor at all and you'll see."  
"Okay," I said mechanically. In my head, I was freaking out.  
Mom must have known. She squeezed my shoulders in her hands and said, "Anne, take a deep breath for me. Okay? Inhale…"  
I inhaled and exhaled with her.  
"No matter what happens," Mom stated. "You have to battle with honor and integrity. Understood?"  
"But if I lose," I protested, "you'll have to pay them money. We don't really have ~"  
Mom cut me off with a finger over my mouth. "Don't worry about it, Anne," she reassured me. "I'll pay however much they want me to pay."  
I nodded and we turned to face the field.  
I saw Tuesday and her father on the other side of the fence, across the field. They weren't speaking to one another. Her father had his arms crossed behind his back, while Tuesday was hard at work on another rubber chain. The field workers inside the fence were laying out the last of the chalk.  
With the field freshly laid out, we stepped through the gate. Mewtwo said, "I hope you know you've made the right choice by getting your license to start your journey. There's no reason to doubt yourself."  
"Thanks."  
He retreated into his own mind. I wondered if going to that facility was still affecting him.  
Tuesday and I met in the center of the field, as one of the field workers also met us there. The old man in brown overalls said, "Alright. I want a clean and fair battle. This fight will have only one Pokémon each and the battles will go on until one of them is unable to battle or the trainer forfeits."  
It didn't feel real as I stuck out my hand for Tuesday to shake. She shook, her grip loose. The words came out of my mouth, but I felt like I was playing a video game, "Hope this is a great battle." Words I transcribed from television. I hoped I didn't sound too mechanical.  
The redhead flashed me a smile before whipping on her heel to return to her spot. I made a quick glance a the referee/gardener, who simply gave me a warm smile and a nod. I went back to my spot and inhaled deeply.  
I stared at the chain link fence for a minute, trying to funnel my brain back into my skull. Mewtwo's voice broke the dream-like trance, "Anne, you can do this. Just turn around and get out your ball."  
I blinked heavily so stars danced on my vision and turned around with a sigh. The referee held up one arm between us and raised it into the air, shouting, "Fight, commence!"  
Tuesday tossed her Pokéball into the air, calling out, "Let's go, Piper!"  
I tossed out my own Pokéball. "Go, Alex!"  
Eevee looked so adorable, bouncing out and spinning. She was brown, with white tufts of long fur around her collar and a bushy tail tipped in white. She barked to me, running up to leap into my arms. She licked my face. I hugged her and said, "I'm sorry, Alex. We have to battle."  
I let her down to see Piper looking longingly at Tuesday, who kept her intense stance with her arms folded. "Hurry up, Anne," she called, "I don't have all day!"  
"Okay," I replied and gave Alex one last pet.  
I glanced at my Pokedex for Alex's move set. She knew tackle and sand attack. "Riveting," I mumbled to my Pokedex.  
"I know, right?" answered the Pokedex in a possibly sarcastic voice. I blinked and popped it closed for later discussion.  
"Piper, use pound!" Tuesday ordered.  
I reacted, "Eevee, get out of the way and tackle!"  
The blue, penguin-like Pokémon charged with fin raised for a pounding and Alex side stepped. She gave it a hard tackle. Piper fell on its side.  
Alex bounded away from Piper. "Pound again, Piper!" Tuesday ordered.  
Piper readied for another pound attack, but Alex pranced around the battle field in circles. Piper, of course, gave chase. "Eeveralex!" I jumbled, making the Pokémon give me a funny look as she leapt away from Piper delivering a blow. "Sand attack!"  
The Pokémon flipped her back legs forward and kicked up a heap of sand right when Piper was about to come in for another pound attack. It received an eyeful and mouthful of sand.  
"No! Piper! Back up! Get away from Eevee!"  
"Tackle!" I ordered.  
Alex did as told while the opponent was still reeling. Piper fell flat on its back.  
"Get up, Piper!" Tuesday shouted through her teeth.  
Alex and I waited, watching the Pokémon stand and shake the dirt out of its eyes. Mom always told me not to strike an opponent while it was down. I glanced at Tuesday, who had a perpetual angry expression on her face, as if the world's existence made her mad.  
"Pound on Eevee!" she ordered.  
The Piplup geared up for another attack and my Pokémon leapt back. But Piper landed the attack by taking an extra step and landing its flippers on Alex's foot. Alex cringed and reared in pain.  
"Push Eevee down and don't let up on Pound!"  
Piper did so in an instant and leapt on top of Eevee. It delivered a series of pounds with both flippers, like a wrestler on top of his opponent. Eevee screamed in pain.  
"What? You shouldn't ~ Stop her!" I begged the referee. The old man just watched, his face stone. I turned to Alex, who was whimpering with each pound to her ribs. "Get out of there!" I shouted, but she was pinned, unable to get her paws under Piplup and taking too much damage to hit her with a front paw.  
"Enough," shouted Tuesday when Alex became silent.  
The referee raised a hand to Tuesday's side and said, "Alex the Eevee has sustained serious injury and is unable to battle. Tuesday Lang is the winner."  
Tuesday grinned as her Piplup approached her with high regard, a bounce in its proud steps. I dashed to my injured Eevee, who trembled, covered in dirt, and tears of pain in its eyes. Mom joined me on the field, Ursaring close behind. I flinched when I saw drops of blood on the corners of her mouth.  
Tears filled my own eyes as I said, "I'm sorry, Alex. I'm sorry."  
"Put her in the Pokéball – we have to get her to a Pokémon Center in case there's internal bleeding," Mom informed. I withdrew her. There was a split second I saw a look of relief on Eevee's face.  
"Brutal," both Mom and Mewtwo said at the same time. Mom and I looked up at Tuesday Lang talking to her father.  
Her father's jaw was set as she bragged to him. I heard bits of what she said, "You said I wasn't good … a trainer… Cynder … proud of me."  
Mr. Lang's arm shot up and he slapped his daughter across the face. He said in a deep growling voice, "You dishonorable child! I raised you better than this! Cynder would never be proud of this battle. I never should have let you get your license. You know nothing about being a trainer – only a winner. You'll never become a champion."  
Tuesday held the hurt side of her face, tears flowing. She buckled to her knees as she sobbed into her lap. Her Piplup comforted her while Mr. Lang approached us.  
I stood with Mom as he said, "I must apologize for my daughter's behavior. I am glad you have revealed to me how selfish and cruel she is before she dishonors our family in front of the world."  
"I'm … I'm …" I wasn't sure what to say. I glanced at Tuesday and Mr. Lang, utterly at a loss as to what to do or say.  
Mr. Lang smiled to me and held out his hand. "You have did a great job. I'm certain your Pokémon will grow to become strong and happy." I shook his hand, managing to smile through the tears. "Now, why don't we take you to the Pokémon Center?" Then to his daughter, he barked, "Tuesday! Get up. We're going to the Pokémon Center."  
It was an awkward ride the whole way. Mom stayed silent as she held my hand. Tuesday cried and cried the whole time. Mr. Lang explained to her that, when you defeat your opponent, you help them to a Pokémon Center and make sure they and their Pokémon are alright. "The wild is dangerous," he added, "and a trainer without Pokémon can get hurt – or worse, killed."  
She just replied with sobs and mumbles.  
I glanced at Mom. Was the wild truly that dangerous? I had heard of things – rumors, small bits of news, and whispers from students, but I never considered trainers getting killed. Mom added, "Or you can find a Pokémon Scout if both you and your opponent are low on Pokémon."  
"Pokémon Scout?" Tuesday quivered. I was interested, too.  
Mom nodded and explained, "They're a branch of the Pokémon Rangers. They patrol the wilderness and find injured wild Pokémon and stranded trainers to take them to safety. They have a special care center where severely injured Pokémon are taken in to recover."  
"That sounds amazing," I said.  
Tuesday merely curled up in her seat, but at least she calmed down a bit.

The Pallet Town Pokémon Center was identifiable by its true-red roof and giant Pokéball sign with the red plus in the middle. Inside, there was enough room for Pokémon and their trainers, waiting areas on either side, and a large counter at the front. There were two doors on either sides of the counter – but both were for Pokémon care and trainer medical needs.  
The two nurses at the front looked up from their computers and smiled pleasantly. Mr. Lang and Mom accompanied me as we approached the counter. "Hi," I began, nerves setting in as I tried not to start crying again. I held up the Pokéball in both hands as I informed, "M-my, uh, Eevee. She needs help. I think her ribs are broken."  
The nurse closest, with Pikachu earrings and bright blonde hair, held out her hand to take my Pokéball. She soothed, "Don't worry, ma'am. We'll take good care of your Eevee." I gently placed Alex in her hand.  
She walked to a device behind her – it looked like a larger version of a microscope, but without the lens to look into. She placed the Pokéball on the little platform and a screen next to the microscope lit up. She pressed a few buttons and a red light scanned my Alex.  
A little icon appeared, showing a diagram of an Eevee. There were red arrows and lettering pointing to the chest and stomach area. "I see," the nurse said slowly. She turned to us and said with a tempered smile, "You'll need to leave Eevee with us for the day so we can treat her. I'm afraid her injuries are very severe – but nothing we can't fix."  
I looked to Mom, who nodded to me with reassurance. Mr. Lang said, "I'm glad to hear it." We looked over our shoulders and saw Tuesday hovering next to the door, her arms folded and her face a permanent scowl of self-loathing.  
Outside, next to the limousine, Mr. Lang shook our hands as he said, "I thank you, again, and I hope your Pokémon become strong and happy. Nothing is more important than the bond you will share with them." He paused to reach into his suit pocket. "I want you to have my card. If you ever need anything or need a place to rest on your journey, come to my mansion. We have more than enough space – especially with all my children going off to become champions. Well, most all of them. Tuesday will be suspended for now and her older brother has another month before he can get his license." He glanced at his daughter next to him. "Hopefully your brother will learn from your mistake."  
Tuesday bowed her head in shame.  
I tried to figure out what I should say to Tuesday. I wasn't even sure how to feel – I was scared for my Pokémon and I honestly wanted to go home. I didn't like being an adult at that moment, when I had to share space with the person who almost killed my first Pokémon.  
Something inside told me that was part of being a trainer – looking at that person and forgiving them. Maybe even what it took to be a human being.  
I stared at her for a moment, trying to summon words. "Tuesday?" I began and any words I might have found dashed away when she glared at me. "Uh, um. I just want to say… Thank you. I learned how to lose… because of you. I will do my best to get better… and maybe we, um, can battle again?"  
She stared at my outstretched hand for a moment. Her mouth became a straight line as more tears filled them. "Yes," she whispered as we shook hands. "I'm … s-sorry. I… I'm… so selfish." She hiccupped as tears flowed.  
To both our surprise, her father put his arm around her shoulders. She looked at him with shock and cried harder. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"  
Mom put her arm around me as well and led me away from the limo as she said, "We live in town, so we can walk from here."


	8. Chapter 8

_AUTHOR'S COMMENTS: This is a short chapter - yay! Please, check me out at Wattpad, user/Felicity_Swan and check out SCALES, too. Spread it around! The Wattpad link is updated quicker than this by, like, a month. So follow that or keep a shortcut somewhere to look at it occasionally and make the happy numbers go up on my reader count. __I do my best to keep up with this site, but Wattpad works better on my phone. _

_Also, a Togekiss is heavy enough to make your shoulder fall off. The Fan Fic is 1/4 based on the anime, 1/4 based on the game, and 1/4 based on Smogon, and 1/4 based on laziness and the fact I write this when I don't want to work on anything else. My main focus of this story is characterization and story organization. I've actually been writing more things out of order to know what I'm writing. None of that made sense in my head, but just know, I'm working on this and experimenting on writing processes. _

_I finally have Pokemon Red, thanks to the Nintendo release on their 3DS store. My first Pokemon game was Silver, which might be the region this fan fiction will end on - I don't know, depends on how things go. _

_Critique is welcome, but, like I said, I'm more focused on characterization, so if my MC sounds like a Mary Sue, say something. I have a lot of development planned for lots of characters and lots of characters to introduce as well. _

_**RECOMMENDED FAN FICTION:** Fallout Equestria by Kkat. No lie, I cried three times - like bawled my eyes out. I haven't done that since 2009 in class (it was a class assigned book and I was accidentally ahead of everyone). _

_Support the official release._

* * *

The sun set, casting the sky in a pleasant orange, red, and purple. Mom and I had walked for blocks and blocks around Pallet in silence. It was about thirty-minute walk back home. Mom said something about going back in the morning to get her car from the front of the Pokémon Lab.

It wasn't until we made it back to our long, winding driveway did the cloak of numbness hit me. I was a trainer now.

From childhood, you're taught all about being a trainer: Strategy in battle, what potions are best for when, status ailments and how to best take advantage of them, and even the histories of the gym leaders and regions. You're even required to memorize TMs and HMs in school.

They don't tell you how it feels to watch your Pokémon get pulverized, the numb feeling of grief, or how to look a trainer in the eye after all is said and done and forgive them.

When the numbness left, I was angry. I wanted to take away my words and tell her to go jump off a cliff. How dare she challenge me like that! I barely had my Pokémon, barely got to get to know her, and didn't even know her move set.

Mom held my shoulders as we trekked the long driveway. Our house was nestled in the country, where the forest was near. We passed fields of Toros and Miltanks milling about in the orange light with barbed wire fences keeping them in.

She understood the shock, I realized. I leaned against her and watched the ground passing beneath our feet. I turned my gaze up to her and asked, "Did any… of your Pokémon ever… die?"

Mom kept her gaze on the road in the distance, her eyes growing dark. "Yes."

"What about … friends?"

At this, she looked at me and made a confused look. "Why?"

"Mr. Lang said, you know, trainers can get killed."

Mom's hand on my shoulder turned me to the fence to the left and we approached a grazing Miltank. Mom let go and started pulling grass. I inhaled and joined her.

The grateful Pokémon took the grass with ease, as if she had all the time in the world. Mom began, "My adopted sister, your aunt, we were traveling together with a friend. Her name was Twilight. The three of us were inseparable. Twilight loved fire and dark types. My sister, as you know, wanted to specialize in normal types. Me, heh, just wanted to catch them all. I didn't really care what types I had. I loved my Charmander and I had a great team building up. I was just going to focus on the team I had at the time and work on catching them all when I beat my first set of gym leaders."

She paused to pick more grass while the Miltank ate the grass from my hand. Her lips pinched the handful of grass and she worked the blades with ease.

She held out two handfuls of grass, one to the Miltank and one to a Toros who approached to get some attention. "We were on the bike path. Which had dozens of goons from some biker gang waiting to challenge any trainers who came across their paths. We swept the floor with them, but our Pokémon were getting tired. We raced for the end, deciding to run from anymore battles or avoid the rest of the gang.

"We ran straight into an ambush. Twi had taken up the rear and was separated from my sister and me. We fought them with our Pokémon, my Chamander now a Charizard. My sister's Bulbasaur a Venusaur. Twi's Clefairy was now a Clefable and her strongest Pokémon."

She paused, her expression growing dim. "When we took them out, the gang leader faced us. My sister and I wiped out his team, but most of our Pokémon were completely exhausted by the time it was over. My Charizard was going to have to fly us back to a center. When the smoke cleared… The gang members had long since poisoned Twilight with a smog attack. We flew back to the nearest center – we had used up all our supplies in the fight. We couldn't stop the poison." Trainers could get poisoned, too? I blinked, remembering my requirement for a first aid class, but it never hit me I would actually need it.

Mom continued, "Charizard wasn't the fastest flyer with all three of us on his back. We should have just sent Twilight ahead, but our Pokémon were too weak to handle anymore battles and there were no Scouts on the bridge because the biker gang had warded them off. When we arrived… The poison had reached her heart."

Mom bowed her head, tears misting her eyes. "We held her in our arms, right inside the Pokémon Center, and watched the life leave her eyes. The nurses – they tried. They administered an antidote to stop the poison, but it was too late. They… they made her comfortable. We held her. And held her. She … I'd never seen someone turn grey before."

Chills ran up and down my spine as I pictured what happened. Mom and my aunt holding the girl in their arms as she slowly turned white and then grey. Sobbing, begging nurses to help. And the nurses looking so helpless.

Mom inhaled and wiped her eyes. "My sister blamed me. Somehow, it was my fault – if only I had trained Charizard to handle the weight. He had just recently evolved, so he wasn't even fully used to his wings." Mom paused. "We… separated from there. Once we had restocked our supplies and healed our Pokémon, my sister headed home. She was done with her journey, unable to handle it. She decided she wanted to become a doctor." Mom chuckled and picked something from under her nails. "Me? I was angry. I was so angry, I kept going for the principle of it. I was going to take over the world and make everyone feel my pain."

I made a confused look. "When did you meet Dad and Uncle Logan?"

"When I lost my gym battle at Fuschia City. My anger and grief blinded me – even the gym leader could see that. The boys were next in line and watched my battle. They found me at the Pokémon Center and offered to help me – they had lost a cousin who was a Scout."

Silence fell on us. A few Pidgey landed on the road behind us and picked at something before darting away when they noticed us and the silent Ursaring sitting on the road.

Mom smiled to me, finally, her eyes misted once more. "I don't regret it. Being a trainer was the best thing that happened to me."

"How far … did you guys go?"

"The Honen Region," Mom answered as we walked back to the road. "One day, I just felt like it was time to stop. I made it my goal to get to the Elite Four and then go home. Your father and uncle already had a good idea what they wanted. Not many trainers make it past their third region, unless they're really determined or their master's degree requires it." Ursaring stood up and dusted off her fur before joining us.

"How many require it?"

"Not many," Mom shrugged. "Definitely not an English or Journalism Degree."

I glanced at my shoes, trying to take it all in. Mewtwo finally chimed in, "That's …" He didn't seem to find the words.

Togakiss was happy to be out of her Pokéball, as she trilled and danced in the air around the room. I sat down on the couch, hoping something on the television would help my brain level out after such an intense day.

"Breaking News Update," said the news anchor into the television. At the corner of the screen, an image of the Pallet Town Lab. "Police say they believe the assault on the Pallet Town Pokémon Lab to be the work of Team Rocket, as they have also taken down New Bank Pokémon Lab as well."

"My car!" Mom cried out and frowned. "What happened?"

"I don't know," I answered and turned up the volume.

"The police say the bomb had been planted by one of the rockets, who had disguised themselves as one of the scientist. Here's a sketch of the man." The image appeared on the screen and a number to call if he's seen. He looked like the exhausted scientist with the t-shirt that said 'Keep Calm and Train On'. "Most all of the Pokémon in the facility were stolen. Fifteen staff members died, and two policemen were killed in the bombing.

"Oh my word. This must have happened when we were out of town," Mom said. "Oh, I hope my car is okay! I parked it a block out, I think. Oh, man those people." She ran her fingers through her hair as I glanced up in time to see the swirl of emotions. "I … I should call the police department and make sure…" She went to the kitchen where the nearest phone on the house line was.

The news was on every channel. Pallet and New Bank, bombed. I had just been in that building. I gripped the Pokéball on my necklace. "Its alright," Mewtwo soothed. Togakiss, too, tried to comfort me by nuzzling my cheek.

Overwhelmed, I went to my room while Mom talked to the police to get more of the story and find out about her car. By the sounds of her voice, the car was alright.

In my room, Mewtwo exited the Pokéball and stretched. He levitated to my bed while I took a seat at my desk to turn on my Pokégear's radio. I opened my laptop and started journaling.

Journaling had become apart of my life and my lifeline to make sense of everything. For the first time in a while, I hovered over the keys, unsure what to write. I turned to my only other lifeline.

Mewtwo met my eyes and asked, "What's up?"

"I don't know what to write. I … Did I make a mistake? Doing any of this? Putting Eevee in jeopardy?" Tears sprung forth. I sobbed, "I don't want to be an adult, Mewtwo."

He held out an arm and I threw myself into his embrace to wet his chest with my tears. He wrapped me up in his arms and his tail. "Shh," he whispered. "It's okay. Its going to be alright. You never knew she would have done that. I don't know if it's the right thing, but you did what you could."

I was glad he wanted to come with me. His presence was a safe place, outside of Mom and Ursaring and even Togakiss. I sat in his lap for what felt like forever until Mom knocked on my door. I slid down and opened the door.

She looked concerned as she said, "My car's fine and I can come get it in the morning. Hon, what's wrong?"

"I'm just … Emotional about all this craziness."

Mom pulled me into a quick embrace. "You're my little warrior, Anne. It takes a lot of courage to start your journey. Even with help." She nodded to Mewtwo, who hovered behind me. "Tomorrow," she continued, "we'll go get your Eevee and then make sure you're set for your journey. I don't have much money, but we'll make do."

"Thank you," I said, tears flowing down my face. "Thank you."

Mom nodded and stroked my hair. "Let's go heat up something outta the fridge and eat dinner." She motioned us to follow with a nod of her head and the three of us went to the kitchen. Mom told me about a few losses she had on her journey while we ate reheated torchic spaghetti.

Butch peeled off his sweat drenched clothes. Bomb duty always made him sweat more than most jobs. He was grateful for the chance to shower and change out of his clothes. The gym locker room smelled of the lingering musk of male body odor. Like onions wrapped in old leather.

A locker slammed on his row and he looked up to see blue hair shrouding the face of a lean man. "Oh," he said in his grating voice, "James, you're back. Any luck on your latest assignment?"

James turned his head, a cut running along his jaw. He hesitated, his eyes glancing away to calculate what it might cost if he told his captain how the job was going.

"I won't tell Cassidy," he informed James. "She might be my partner, but I know how to keep things from her."

"We're slowly making progress following some leads," James explained, picking his words as he rummaged through his duffle bag. "We got back from questioning locals at this little village near a forest. We think we have some answers as to where one of the Legendary Dogs might be." He paused as he pulled out a stick of deodorant and applied it liberally. "We'll catch it soon, though."

"I'm glad you and Jessie are doing well. How's the married life?"

James eyed Butch with suspicion. "If I might ask, why?"

Butch shrugged, "Curious."

"She buries herself in her work. If we aren't tracking down Pokémon, she's training her own. Or at the gym. We don't really talk that much." He chuckled and asked, "Did you know Meowths can talk human language?"

"No way," Butch laughed. "Really?"

"Oh, yeah," James answered with a grin. "Jessie's Meowth walked up to me one morning and told me to hurry up and 'dish out the food' because he was hungry."

"Dayum," Butch emphasized. "Did he keep talking?"

"He's the sassiest little snot I've ever heard," James said, his grin widening. "He won't shut up half the time." His grin disintegrated at the edges. "I don't really understand why Jessie won't talk to me about what's going on."

"Did you do something to hurt her feelings?"

James shook his head. "Not that I know of."

"Why don't you just go ask her what's up?"

James frowned, looking into his locker again and grabbing a pair of underwear and pants. "I tried, but she just tells me everything is fine. Then she gets quiet again and buries her head in her work."

The two men paused, not looking at one another one dressed and the other one undressed. Butch wrapped a thick towel around himself. "Well," he began. "I guess you should give your wife time. I'm sure whatever it is will turn up or she'll crack and yell at you."

"I guess," James answered as he tied his boots. He paused, thinking, and smirked as he said, "Thanks, sir."

"Hey, no problem. Anytime." He waved James off on his way to the shower. James' smirk dissipated. He hoped the issue would clear up soon.

Jessie leaned against the wall outside. Her mind was blank of all thought, while a burden rested on her shoulders, like a giant, rotten fruit hanging onto a limb and bringing the tree down with it.

A few weeks ago, she received a call her mother had died. It was painless, no doubt. What troubled her was the fact her mother had left her an inheritance.

She could still see her mother's disapproving face when she lost at the Trainer Festival. Her mother had pushed her so hard to strive to become the best trainer. When she lost, Jessie tried again to become top trainer, going to region after region. Her mother only told her how she would never amount to anything.

Then Jessie went to college, unable to become a Master. Her mother said she'd fail at that, too. She met James at the college, another child from a rich family who acted like a normal human being like her – not some stuck up, self-centered, brat.

At least, when they married, her mother smiled and said, "At least you got that right."

Was it marrying a man from a rich family that she got right? Or was it just marriage in general? Either way, her mother never answered her questions and Jessie was abducted from their honeymoon in the Kalos region.

Why have her name in the will at all? The world thought Jessie was dead, so why not her mother?

"Jessie?" James asked, breaking her trance.

"J-James," she greeted as he kissed her on the cheek. She brushed his rough cheek in response, but it was automatic. "How was your shower? You were taking a long time."

"I fell," he answered, the gleam in his eye telling her he was teasing. "I busted my head open. Blood everywhere. But I patched myself up."

She stared at him and waited for him to relent on the goofy act. He frowned, "Come on, Jess, laugh or punch me on the shoulder or something."

She didn't want to. "We need to catch that Suicune before we can go after Entei. Once we have both, we can finish off with Raiku."

"I know," James answered, his voice sounding defeated.

There was a moment of silence and Jessie sensed something was going on with James. "Jessie," he said and put a hand on her shoulder to stop her. She looked at her feet as he said, "Please, talk to me. Something is going on and I can feel it. Things aren't the same at home. You hardly laugh at my jokes and you don't relax."

"I'm sorting things out in my head," she answered, pressing her fingers to her temples. "I don't understand why …"

He leaned into her space, the concern etched into his features as he furrowed his brow. "We can't function if there's a gap between us."

She pressed against him and shivered. It was from the cold of numbness inside, not from the air conditioner buzzing cold air into the hall. Their black clothes were a hard contrast to the white walls and white tile flooring, much how she felt. Her emotions were a contrast to what she expected – pain, not numbness. She was supposed to be mourning, not fighting.

"Mother," she began. The words choked in her throat. She squeezed her hands into fists and put them between her and James. She focused on the details of her hands – rough from years of working with Pokémon, combat, climbing, and running. She had been through hell and back and actually liked her job.

They both liked being Pokémon Hunters. They thrived here amongst the Rockets and were in no hurry to advance beyond their position. For once, she felt like she belonged. But lately, with the defeat…

With her mother, she was a disappointment. A nobody. A failure.

Jessie lowered her forehead onto his chest. "My mother died three weeks ago," Jessie whispered.

"Oh my God," James whispered in return. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"She left me an inheritance," Jessie answered as she pulled away. "I don't understand why."

"How do you know about all this?"

"I asked a friend in the spy division to watch my mom. I got news as soon as it happened. Mom had my name in the will. The lawyer is holding the money for me, as the will dictated, for 90 days."

James frowned and stared at the wall to think. He sighed and said, "We should go. Get the money in cash, and see my mother."

Jessie smirked at that and teased, "You're such a momma's boy. I'll look into disguises to get us there."

James laughed and hugged her.

"Hopefully, we don't get fired for this." She tried not to imagine barrels pointing at their heads – an image haunting her dreams lately – as she hugged him back.


End file.
